In light of NFL superstar Adrian Peterson’s child abuse indictment, Nike has released a statement on the situation as Peterson is one of the company’s many endorsers:
Nike statement on its endorser Adrian Peterson pic.twitter.com/AOmuRoHa4v
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 13, 2014
This is typical protocol for a sponsoring company of an athlete who has found himself in legal trouble. In this case, Nike wants to make it clear that, while Peterson remains under contract with the organization, they will monitor the situation, making a personnel decision depending on the outcome.
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We recently saw this with Ray Rice–and to a bigger extent, the Los Angeles Clippers as they worked through Donald Sterling issues–as Nike and others all terminated the former Ravens running back following the release of the actual video of him hitting his then-finance, now-wife Janay Rice in a Las Vegas elevator which led to an indefinite suspension from the NFL.
With Peterson’s crime a heinous one, many will hope for Nike to make immediate action, but unlike the Minnesota Vikings (who deactivated the running back for Sunday’s game) and similar to the NFL, Nike will likely wait until the courts make a ruling on the case.
If cleared from the case, Peterson will likely remain under contract with the company, but if guilty, Peterson will surely be with one less sponsor than he had prior to being arrested.