Nike, HEAD and NetJets Will Stand By Maria Sharapova, But Not Everyone’s Happy
Despite facing a two year ban from tennis, Maria Sharapova’s contract with Nike has resumed and she will continue to be the ambassador for HEAD and NetJets
The 29-year-old tennis champion was dropped from her lucrative multi-million dollar deal with Nike after she admitted to taking the performance enhancing drug Meldonium. The drug was outlawed by the World Anti-Doping agency in January this year.
The ITF (International Tennis Federation) Tribunal has granted the incident a “mistake” – however Sharapova has been handed down a two year ban from the sport.
She will now seek to appeal the ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), calling it “unfairly harsh.”
While some of her sponsors have taken a sympathetic approach, others in the tennis world are either annoyed by claims the ruling is unfair, or believe it’s not fair enough.
Tennis champion Rodger Federer is one of those people, and he made it very clear overnight that he believes it doesn’t make a difference if illegal substances are taken as a mistake or not. He claims it’s an athletes job to be on top of the substances going in to their body and ensure they are complying with the rules.
Speaking to media, Federer said:
It doesn’t matter if they did it on purpose or not, I don’t really see the difference”
“You need to know what goes into your body, you have to be 100 per cent sure of what’s going on. If you’re not, you’re going to be damned.
Others took a softer approach to Sharapova who is currently the highest paid female athlete on the planet. Nike decision to rekindle and stand by their partnership comes purely on the ground that she ‘did not intentionally break its rules‘.
Speaking to WWD about Maria’s future with Nike, a spokesperson from the company said:
“The ITF Tribunal has found that Maria did not intentionally break its rules. 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.”
Maria Sharapova featured in Nike’s ad campaign for Tech Knit Apparel.
And the sporting equipment company HEAD and NetJets will also join forces with the five-time Grand Slam champion.
The HEAD chairman, Johan Eliasch, explained:
“Without necessary and extensive clinical testing that highlights either Meldonium’s performing enhancing benefits or evidence of it being detrimental to athletes, it is evident that WADA banned Meldonium based upon the amount of athletes using Meldonium rather than any scientific evidence.”
A spokesman from NetJets confirmed their collaboration with the sportswoman, and said:
“NetJets, is also standing by her. A company spokesman said Wednesday, “We continue our relationship with Ms. Sharapova and we look to seeing her back on the court soon.”
The Russian-born star, who won her first Wimbledon tennis title at the age of 17, admitted to taking the anti-ischemic drug – used to increase blood flow to the heart – in March, although she claimed she had been legally prescribed it in 2006 by her family doctor to help with her health issues.
Maria shared a string of pictures on her Facebook account of the official court documents detailing the conclusion to the case. Alongside the images she wrote: “The tribunal found that I did not seek treatment from my doctor for the purpose of obtaining a performance enhancing substance.”