Nike leaves boxer in the dust after anti-gay comments create uproar
Just because someone is popular doesn’t mean they’re right for your brand. Just ask Nike, who quickly dumped boxer and aspiring politician Manny Pacquaio after he bashed homosexuals during a televised event in the Philippines and continued his tirade on social media. Pacquiao, who dropped gems like, “Do you see animals mating with the same sex?” (by the way, Manny should read more, it’s actually quite well documented) quickly found himself and all related merchandise dumped by long-term sponsor Nike.
Nike does not play when it comes to bad publicity, and has dumpstered a number of big names over controversies including Lance Armstrong, Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson and Oscar Pistorius. In a concise statement, the brand declared, “We find Manny Pacquiao’s comments abhorrent. Nike strongly opposes discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting and standing up for the rights of the LGBT community.” The statement was closed with a firm, “We no longer have a relationship with Manny Pacquiao.”
What we found even more interesting than Nike’s response was a quote from Pacquiao’s own manager, spotted on ESPN.com:
“Nike is in the business of selling its products to as wide of an audience as they can, and Manny’s comments were insulting to a lot of people,” Arum told ESPN.com. “His comments were made to a Filipino audience, where same-sex marriage is not as accepted as it is here, and Manny is a convert of enlightened Christianity, which does not believe in same-sex relationships. But to people in the United States, his words can only be viewed as hate speech. If I was running Nike, I would have to make the same decision they did.”
The crisis management lesson here is to be careful who you sign up to represent your brand, and be ready to cut them loose the second they take a turn that could come back to hurt you. Celebrities can be compelling spokespeople or effective walking billboards, but they’re also prone to controversy. It’s risk vs. reward, just make certain you’re on the right side of the equation.
The BCM Blogging Team
www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com