Broncos LB Brandon Marshall yesterday said that he has "lost his second endorsement deal" since he took a knee during the National Anthem of the Panthers-Broncos matchup, according to Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com. Marshall said that CenturyLink has "ended its agreement with him" after he had signed last month to promote its Prism TV and Internet services. Colorado Springs-based Air Academy Federal Credit Union earlier this week terminated its deal with Marshall. He said of losing the deals, "It's not going to make me lose any sleep. ... I understand there will be things that come up, criticism and support. I just have to do what I think is right.'' CenturyLink in a statement said, "While we acknowledge Brandon's right, we also believe that whatever issues we face, we also occasionally must stand together to show our allegiance to our common bond as a nation. In our view, the national anthem is one of those moments." Meanwhile, Marshall said that he "will meet" with Denver Police Chief Robert White today and with members of Denver's police union (ESPN.com, 9/12). Marshall was slated to "appear in local television and radio commercials as well as online, print and social media promotions" for CenturyLink (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/13).
GET UP, STAND UP: In N.Y., Eligon & Cacciola in a front-page piece write, "Provocative stances by prominent athletes have been rare, even during surging and searing national discussions over race, justice and politics." Athletes these days "find themselves preoccupied with financial and branding concerns; an all-for-one-and-one-for-all sports culture; and fan bases that expect athletes to 'shut up and play.'” Redskins DE Ricky Jean Francois: "If you don’t know what you’re up against, you’re screwing yourself. You may lose your job. You may lose your endorsement. You may lose your relationship with high-ranking people. Guys don’t want to lose what they worked so hard for throughout their whole career.” NBA D-League Texas Legends G Josh Childress said there is "definitely a silent pressure" from teams and sponsors for athletes to censor themselves. Childress: "It’s in their best interests to keep you in the athlete box. Unless you just have some quirky personality thing that makes you more likable, or you’re really, really good, they want to just keep business as usual: Do your job on the court, and let’s keep the distractions to a minimum" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/13). In Ft. Lauderdale, Dave Hyde writes, "We spent years asking Michael Jordan to speak out about anything more than selling shoes. We wanted Tiger Woods to say something -- anything -- about the lack of minorities or women at Augusta National." Hyde: "Now you're seeing why most athletes don't do this. It's not just messy, this sight of democracy in action. It's a food fight in moments like this" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 9/13).
