The straight dope

In all the years since it signed on Romanias Ilie Nastase in 1972,this is the first time that Nike,the most valuable sports company in the world,has permanently dropped a global ambassador. The swoosh stayed firm on Tiger Woods black cap all the way through his sex scandal even as he lost all other major sponsors and remained on Kobe Bryants trainers as he faced rape charges. Quarterback Michael Vicks contract was terminated for his involvement in illegal dog-fighting,but he too was reinstated after a prison sentence. So why did Nike,arguably the most forgiving brand in the world,make an example out of Armstrong? A TV commercial,shot in 2001,should illustrate why. Back when the use of performance-enhancing drugs were rampant in cycling,Nike decided to showcase their poster boy Lance Armstrongs cleanliness in an ad. In the ad,Armstrong,while getting his blood drawn by a drug tester says: Everybody wants to know what I am on. What am I on? I am on my bike busting my ass for six hours a day. Nike had stuck its neck out,putting its image on the block. Armstrong has now chopped it.

The message is simple. Infidelity and harassment happen off the track or field,when sportsmen do not wear their logo,valued at 10.7 billion. But in Armstrongs case,he used the very same Nike fabric to cover syringe marks on his arms. This was unacceptable by the brands standards,and so,with great sadness, Nike left Armstrong this week.