A-Rod Admission: Nike Holds Comment About Rodriguez' PED Use
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| Nike Has Endorsed Rodriguez Since '94 |
Nike yesterday issued a statement regarding Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez' admission that he used performance-enhancing drugs from '01-03, stating, "Nike does not condone the use of illegal substances in sport and agrees with Alex Rodriguez that they should not be used. We will have no further comment at this time" (Nike). CNBC.com's Darren Rovell noted Nike, which has sponsored Rodriguez since he was drafted in '94, is Rodriguez' "most valuable endorser." But the company that "might be the most affected by the news is Dick's Sporting Goods," which has been the "exclusive retailer of A-Rod's cleats for the last three years and a fresh batch of this year's model hit floor shelves in the Northeast just days ago." Dick's Sporting Goods CMO Jeff Hennion said it is "too early to tell" what the impact will be. But Rodriguez' cleats "typically have made up a tiny portion of overall cleat sales in the stores." Rodriguez was used the past two years in TV ads for Dick's in conjunction with Nike, but was not scheduled to be used this year (CNBC.com, 2/9).
FROM HERO TO ZERO? Rodriguez is currently being featured along with Lakers G Kobe Bryant, Gold Medal-winning swimmer Michael Phelps and skateboarder Tony Hawk is an ad for Activision's "Guitar Hero World Tour" videogame, and a company spokesperson said that it has "no plans to change its TV campaign, 'which is nearing the end' of its run." SportsCorp President Marc Ganis said the "target market for Guitar Hero is younger counterculture youth for whom this kind of behavior is not considered very negative" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/10). But FOXNEWS.com's Hollie McKay cites a source as saying that Rodriguez "can most likely hang up his air-guitar as negotiations for more work with the family-friendly company look to be scrapped" (FOXNEWS.com, 2/10).
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