Nike Will Continue Its Sponsorship of Maria Sharapova
June 08 2016 - 4:19PM
Dow Jones News
By Sara Germano
Nike Inc. said Wednesday it will continue its sponsorship of
tennis player Maria Sharapova, following a ruling by the
International Tennis Federation that the tennis champion serve a
two-year ban for doping.
"The ITF tribunal has found that Maria did not intentionally
break its rules," the company said. "Maria has always made her
position clear, has apologized for her mistake and is now appealing
the length of the ban. Based on the decision of the ITF and their
factual findings, we hope to see Maria back on court and will
continue to partner with her."
The sportswear maker in March had suspended its contract with
Ms. Sharapova, 29, following her confession that she failed a drug
test at the Australian Open. Ms. Sharapova said she would appeal
Wednesday's ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Under terms of the ITF ban, Ms. Sharapova would be eligible to
return to professional tennis in January 2018. There is precedent
for Nike endorsing athletes following the completion of a drug ban,
most notably the sprinter Justin Gatlin, who ran for the company in
the early 2000s before serving a four-year ban for a positive
doping test. Nike again signed Mr. Gatlin last year, before he went
on to win the national 200-meter title and silver medals in the 100
meters and 200 meters at the world championships.
Write to Sara Germano at sara.germano@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 08, 2016 16:04 ET (20:04 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Nike (NYSE:NKE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Nike (NYSE:NKE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024
