The use of six high school athletes in 60-second TV ads
for Puma and its newest basketball shoe "has ignited protest
from Chicago administrators," according to USA TODAY's
Carolyn White. Jim Flynn of the IL High School Association
said that the athletes retain their eligibility since they
"can serve as models in commercials and ads as long as
they're not using their school uniforms." But J.W. Smith,
Exec Dir of Physical Education and Health for Chicago Public
Schools, and "other school administrators" have adopted a
new bylaw saying that in the future, student-athletes in
Chicago's public schools "will lose their eligibility if
they appear in endorsement ads." Puma N.A. President Jim
Gorman said the administrators are "missing the point" of
the spots: "We checked with all the federations, everybody
gave us the green light. The kids weren't paid anything,
not even given footwear, not even given lunch. This wasn't
about promoting Puma. It was about promoting the kids."
J.W. Smith "disagreed" with that assessment: "Those amateur
athletes had on Puma shoes, Puma shirts, everywhere you
looked there was Puma" (USA TODAY, 6/11).
SHAQ-SHU: In L.A., Randy Harvey reports that Shaquille
O'Neal's agent, Leonard Armato, is "reluctant to elaborate"
on negotiations with Reebok, whose apparel deal with O'Neal
expires this month, but that the "general idea is that
O'Neal will manufacture his own shoes." Armato floats one
possible scenario where O'Neal would "produce his own
signature brand, and, by becoming the middle man, sell them
for a relatively reasonable price" (L.A. TIMES, 6/11).
