Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors. Image source: Keith Allison via Flickr
Corporate PR and marketing departments face a new danger: the risk that athletes endorsing their brand will criticize the company or even terminate their contracts over something the CEO says or does.
Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank’s statement praising President Trump prompted athletes to distance themselves from the clothing company. Wrestler Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, ballerina Misty Copeland, basketball star Stephen Curry, and German soccer team FC St. Pauli all took issue with Plank’s comment. Although the recent controversy involves opinions about Trump, any number issues in today’s charged political atmosphere may cause conflicts between athletes and sponsors.
Morality Clause in Reverse
In the past, corporations have ended their sponsorships of athletes for illegal actions or other forms of malfeasance. Contracts typically have a “morality” clause that allows corporations to terminate contracts with star athletes and other celebrities, sports and entertainment lawyer Dominic Romano of Romano Law told Digiday. “What you rarely see is the reverse: The company bringing the athlete’s reputation to potential disrepute.”
More contracts may allow athletes to hold their sponsors morally accountable. “This is really unprecedented,” Romano said.
Renowned athletes are also brands and have images to protect. When an athlete endorses a company’s brand, the two become associated with each other. Athletes fear association with the wrong corporation will damage their personal brand.
“A Real Asset”
“To have such a pro-business president is something that is a real asset for the country,” Plank said in an interview on CNBC, Business Insider reports. “People can really grab that opportunity.”
In the most critical response, Curry told the San Jose Mercury News he agreed with Plank – if you removed the “et” from asset. Ending the relationship with Under Armour seemed a possibility, although Curry agreed to continue the affiliation. “If I can say the leadership is not in line with my core values, and then there is no amount of money, there is no platform I wouldn’t jump off if it wasn’t in line with who I am,” Curry said.
Attempting to diffuse the situation, Under Armour released a statement to reiterate its values. “We engage in policy, not politics. We believe in advocating for fair trade, an inclusive immigration policy that welcomes the best and the brightest and those seeking opportunity in the great tradition of our country, and tax reform that drives hiring to help create new jobs globally, across America and in Baltimore.”
Bottom Line: In an emerging trend, star athletes and other performers are increasingly willing to criticize their corporate sponsors. Most recently, the Under Armour CEO prompted criticism with a pro-Trump statement. However, other issues might create tension between brands and celebrities who endorse them. PR, marketing and product endorsement executives need to be on guard to protect against potential conflicts and be prepared to react quickly to mitigate fallout from any errant CEO comment or unexpected event.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
