Follow me on
Twitter

More Information

NEW Expanded Edition

PRESS RELEASES FROM HELL and How to Fix Them
The Traditional Press Release Is Dead! The Made-for-the-Internet Release is News Now.
Buy this Report.

REALITY PR STRATEGY: Everything You Need to Know to Get Free (or Really Cheap) Publicity Now. Before you spend another dime on PR, Buy this Report.

Woof! Woof! The Witch is Dead! Nike and Reebok Delete Michael Vick

Nike has taken a stand, bowed to public opinion, and canned indicted football star and dog-fighting mogul Michael Vick.

The company said today that it is suspending him without pay from its roster of endorsers and pulling all Vick-related items from its retail stores. The products have also been removed from Nike's website.

Reebok, which doesn't count Vick as an endorser but is the leading manufacturer of NFL jerseys, also said it would suspend sales of Vick-related items. They said in a statement today:

"While we respect the legal process we find the allegations against Mr. Vick too disturbing to ignore, therefore, we have decided to immediately suspend selling Vick NFL product, both at retail and online through the Reebok website."

Vick apparel continues to sell on eBay.

Categories: News

BL Ochman | Jul 27 07 5:26 | TrackBack (0)

Comments

I don't see a downside for the companies, even though it sucks for a celebrity who finds themselves accused of something.

If it turns out the charges were trumped up, no one's going to blame a shoe company.

There was a children's performer (songs for young audiences) who was accused by a former girlfriend of sexual abuse against children. His career tanked immediately. I don't think he ever recovered, despite completely clearing his name within a few months of the controversy.

Posted by: Eric Eggertson at July 27, 2007 5:58 PM

Absolutely the right move by these companies! Bravo.

Posted by: Donna Tocci at July 28, 2007 8:28 AM

Email this story to a friend

TrackBacks

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.whatsnextonline.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/3987

Search

Contact: BL (at) whatsnextonline (dot) com
212.369.8312

RSS Feed

blog advertising

About BL Ochman

Blogger, social media strategy consultant to Fortune 500 companies, and sought-after corporate speaker B.L. Ochman heads the creative team of whatsnextonline.com. She also publishes the Ethics Crisis blog for SRF Global Translations

Poll ID 0 does not exist.