New York (CNN Business)New England Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown no longer has an endorsement deal with Nike, the company said Thursday, more than a week after the NFL player was accused of rape.
"Antonio Brown is not a Nike athlete," a Nike spokesperson said, declining to comment on specifics.
Brown took the field Sunday in his first game as a New England Patriot, five days after he was sued on allegations of rape and sexual assault. Brown denies the allegations.
His appearance ended days of speculation over whether the NFL would keep him sidelined while it investigated the claims.
Brown, who is in his 10th NFL season, signed a multimillion-dollar contract with the Patriots this month after being released by the Oakland Raiders. He is among the most prominent players in the NFL.
Nike spends more on endorsements than any other company. Its most recent filing from July shows $10.2 billion in endorsement deals.
In the past, Nike has stood by athletes accused of wrongdoing. Nike put former NBA star Kobe Bryant in advertisements in 2005, a year after he settled an accusation of rape.
Michael Vick lost his contract with Nike after being convicted of involvement in dog fighting in 2007. But Nike re-signed him in 2011, saying Vick "acknowledged his past mistakes."
Nike's years of loyalty to Tiger Woods paid off in April, when Woods won the Masters. It was his first major tournament win in 11 years.
Woods' high-profile sex scandal and a DUI arrest in 2017 helped drive many other sponsors away. But Nike never wavered. [Reply]
Word on the street is that Roger Goodell saw Brittney Taylor and said, "I don't know if she's lying but she is so fine, dayumm."
AB aimed too high, and he gonna get got.
Goodell is waiting for the Chiefs to get Jalen Ramsey before putting AB on the exempt list, and he is going to wear the Matt Patricia T-shirt at NFL HQ when he does it. Roger that. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Ubeja Vontell:
A.I just assumed we all get everyone knows the story.
B.If you can't see the difference between a freak coming out of nowhere and a relationship going wrong, I can't help you.
I see the difference, the difference is just irrelevant. You are using a more extreme crime to mitigate the impact of the crime she is accusing him of. There is no reason to compare one type of rape to another other. It's asinine. [Reply]
Originally Posted by kysirsoze:
I see the difference, the difference is just irrelevant. You are using a more extreme crime to mitigate the impact of the crime she is accusing him of. There is no reason to compare one type of rape to another other. It's asinine.
Asinine is thinking there isn't a huge difference between some monster who might kill her pouncing on her than a "friend" who is a bit weird. I doubt she feared Brown which couldn't be said about some thug.
Hell, she kept coming back, what's that tell us? [Reply]