The USA Gymnastics-Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal has complicated sponsorship sales elsewhere in the U.S. Olympic sports business but has not turned off current and potential partners wholesale, top governing bodies say.
Nevertheless, the onus remains on the U.S. Olympic Committee and major governing bodies to prove they have acted to minimize the risk to brands.
“I think it’s caused some pauses in decision-making as everyone waits to see what happens with the USOC and Congress, and now it’s clear that’s going to be a long time before we know exactly the impact here,” said Tiger Shaw, CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard.
But, Shaw continued, the governing body has tried to assuage fears with its sponsors and potential sponsors by laying out its own abuse-prevention practices and emphasizing the renewed awareness on the issue, something other national governing bodies have done as well.
Mostly, other NGBs report, the issue has become a new part of the persuasion effort, but not a dominant one.
“I don’t recall this being a topic that was on the radar a couple of years ago,” said Jill Geer, chief marketing officer of USA Track & Field. “When it does come up in sponsor conversations, it’s usually something we bring up. We really do try to be proactive about this, both institutionally and talking about it with commercial partners.”
The epicenter of the scandal, USA Gymnastics, lost every nonendemic sponsor in late 2017. Outside of gymnastics, corporations with Olympic interests have stayed, though the quiet months after the Winter Games have allowed them to keep a low profile.
The USOC — also targeted by critics for its alleged failures to act more quickly on the Nassar allegations — has not seen any public disavowals. Surveyed at the end of the Winter Games, no USOC or International Olympic Committee sponsors said they had lost confidence in the USOC.
As far as new business is concerned, the market appears quiet but there are other factors at play, namely the development of Los Angeles 2028’s own marketing capabilities and its ambitious sales goals over the next decade.
The USOC hasn’t signed a new sponsor since Comcast in December 2016, and the IOC hasn’t signed any global deals since Intel joined in June 2017.
With the IOC demanding a clear selling field for Los Angeles ’28, the USOC hasn’t been able to sign deals that extend past the 2020 Tokyo Olympics anyway, and a joint venture of the USOC and LA28 will be in market for long-term deals starting in January.
Sources have said that governing bodies, even those not involved in the gymnastics scandal, could face hard questions because of a general fear that Olympic sports in general are not well overseen.
“There aren’t companies out there that aren’t taking a meeting, or aren’t taking a call,” said Matt Farrell, CMO of USA Swimming, which has endured allegations that it didn’t take abuse claims seriously in the past. “They certainly have questions about what we’re doing and our plan for the future. But [sponsor interest] didn’t come to a screeching halt.”
