Apparel company drops Steelers’ Rashard Mendenhall as endorser
Pittsburgh, PA, United States (AHN Sports) – Despite clarifying his controversial comments about Osama bin Laden’s death Wednesday, embattled Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall was fired as an endorser by corporate sponsor Champion.
On Wednesday, the 23-year-old Mendenhall clarified his comments, saying he wanted to get people to reconsider the jubilant reaction to bin Laden’s death, but the fallout from his explosive tweets continued.
It led to Mendenhall being dropped as an endorser by Champion, an athletic apparel company, USA Today first reported the news.
The company said it has ended its “business relationship” with Mendenhall since the athletic brand does not believe the Steelers running back can no longer “appropriately represent Champion.”
The following is a full statement by the Hanesbrands’ unit on Mendenhall as reported by ESPN.com Friday.
“Champion is a strong supporter of the government’s efforts to fight terrorism and is very appreciative of the dedication and commitment of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Earlier this week, Rashard Mendenhall, who endorses Champion products, expressed personal comments and opinions regarding Osama bin Laden and the September 11 terrorist attacks that were inconsistent with the values of the Champion brand and with which we strongly disagreed.
In light of these comments, Champion was obliged to conduct a business assessment to determine whether Mr. Mendenhall could continue to effectively communicate on behalf of and represent Champion with consumers. While we respect Mr. Mendenhall’s right to express sincere thoughts regarding potentially controversial topics, we no longer believe that Mr. Mendenhall can appropriately represent Champion and we have notified Mr. Mendenhall that we are ending our business relationship.
Champion has appreciated its association with Mr. Mendenhall during his early professional football career and found him to be a dedicated and conscientious young athlete. We sincerely wish him all the best.”
Meanwhile, Champion, which extended Mendenhall’s first 3-year deal with the unit of Hanesbrands signed in 2008, is refusing to pay out the balance of the player’s endorsement contract that runs through 2015, according to USA Today Friday.
According to the company which recently signed Mendenhall to a 4-year extension to endorse the brand through 2015, it will only play Mendenhall through the “termination” of his contract which it is dating as of May 13, 2011.
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