Paul and Morgan Hamm, both of whom have had to withdraw from the Games due to injury

Two weeks ago, Sheryl Shade, an agent and sports marketer who has made her mark over the past two decades repping Olympic gymnasts, had a major worry on her plate and a minor concern on the back burner.

The major worry: One of her clients, Olympic team member Morgan Hamm, had tested positive for a banned anti-inflammatory drug. Shade, principal of New York-based Shade Global, was monitoring from afar an International Gymnastics Federation decision expected in Switzerland that, she thought, would clear Morgan.

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That was Saturday, July 25.

The minor one (she thought): Paul Hamm, Morgan’s twin brother and the defending Olympic gold medalist, was seemingly recovering from a hand injury and readying for Beijing.

Sunday morning, July 26, Shade’s phone rang.

“It was Paul and Morgan’s father,” Shade said. “He said, ‘Sheryl, we need to chat.’ ”
Shade collected herself for bad news about Morgan’s drug hearing. But Sandy Hamm continued: “ ‘No, we’re not talking about Morgan. We’re talking about Paul.’ ”

With that, Shade learned that her top male gymnastics client was pulling out of the Beijing Games. (Editor’s note: Late Thursday in Beijing, Morgan Hamm also pulled out of the Olympics due to an injury. Shade was en route to China at the time and unavailable for comment.)

SportsBusiness Journal Olympics correspondent Jay Weiner caught up with Shade before her departure and before Morgan’s announcement to discuss how Paul Hamm’s decision was made, what it cost him and how an agent reacts at such moments.

Sheryl Shade

So, once Sandy Hamm broke the news about Paul, what did you do?
Shade: Paul knew the expectations on him. And now we’re on the Sunday before he gets on a plane at 4 a.m. Tuesday to [USOC] processing and then China. I wrote out pros and cons. I emailed them to him, and we spent a lot of time on the phone. He spoke with Morgan and his parents and now he’s talking to me.

I told him, “If you get on that plane, you have another week to see, to see if it’s just a bad week you’re having and if it can come together.” Forget about sponsors, that was secondary. We never talked about that.

Paul said, “Sheryl, I haven’t had a good practice in a week. I’m going backwards. I don’t have another Paul Hamm miracle in me.” He convinced me it was the right thing to do.

At first, it was selfish on my part, “Get on that plane for the morale of the team, for USA.” But he said it would be postponing the inevitable. … “Why shouldn’t I give it to the next guy? I think that person should have the full experience.” You could hear his voice quivering. This was a very hard decision.

It’s hard to believe you never spoke about sponsors. You never said to him, “Darn it, Paul, you’re blowing hundreds of thousands of dollar here. Come on, buddy, hang in there.”
Shade: No, I didn’t say that. But it was almost the undertone. Paul knows. He knows of the incentive bonuses, the medal bonuses. He’s aware the post-Olympic tour has huge incentive bonuses.

What did it cost him?
Shade: A healthy Paul Hamm, he absolutely lost $350,000.

And a Paul Hamm who would come to China and not win the all-around, but perform admirably, what’s that amount to?
Shade: I would say $100,000 to $150,000.

Who does Paul have deals with?
Shade: J&J, Chevron, Visa, Hilton, Adidas, GK Elite, The American Dairy Association, you know, “Got Milk?” Paul has done really well this year.

How about the sponsors? Did you get calls from them saying, “Sheryl, what’s the deal here? Why can’t he go to China?”
Shade: We got into Monday morning. Now we have to move quickly. Tuesday the team is leaving for processing. We are moving very quickly. Paul was now numb. But after the decision, I got e-mails out to every sponsor so they weren’t reading about it in the press.

The immediate response was, “Oh my God, but we knew it was a long shot.” And, then, “Will he be in Beijing? We’d love to him there.” All of them would love to have him in hospitality.” (Shade told SportsBusiness Journal later that Hamm won’t be coming to Beijing for any sponsorship work.)

Who did you call first?
Shade: NBC. For me, I personally feel especially responsible and responsive to [producer] David Michaels and NBC. They’ve been so good to Paul. This was a huge comeback story. Gymnastics kicks off the Olympics. Men’s gymnastics starts on the 9th and they’ve got all these promos. So much is based on Paul. I know their people are pulling their hair out at this second about this.

Do injuries make sponsors pause? Paul is hurt. Sprinter Tyson Gay is hurt. Soccer star Abby Wambach is out. Maybe sponsors should stick to safer platforms, no?
Shade: It’s the sports these days. They are going at such high levels. Ask any gymnast. The 1996 Olympic routines are a warm-up routine for kids these days. … What I like is that these sponsors aren’t saying you have to be a winner and you have to come home with a medal. Of course, they’d like that. But I think they’re looking for character. Whether it’s Tyson Gay or Abby Wambach, it’s the character. How are they going to handle it afterwards? How are they going to represent their company? I call them Ninja warriors. They’re giving it 100 percent and that’s what these sponsors want, they want the winners, and then [athletes] go for it, and these things happen.

How does an agent feel when one of her clients gets injured?
Shade: I’m like a second parent to them. You’re very close to these athletes. Even Tyson Gay I was feeling sick to my stomach for him when I saw him get hurt at the Olympic Trials. And I don’t even know him.