On Thursday, sportswear-titan Nike officially ended their sponsorship of former Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, ESPN reports.
Nike originally suspended Peterson’s contract in September when he was accused of beating his four-year old son. (RELATED: Charles Barkley Defends Adrian Peterson: ‘We Spank Kids In The South’)
Sources indicate that the official split stems from Peterson’s announcement of his no contest plea earlier this week. Charged with one count of misdemeanor reckless assault, Peterson will be fined $4,000 and required to complete 80 hours community service hours in lieu of jail time.
Oddly enough, this scenario echoes the Vikings’ own flip-flop involving Peterson’s suspension. (RELATED: Vikings: Adrian Peterson Can Play. Oh, Wait — No, He Can’t)
This is the fourth sponsorship Nike has ended in the past calendar year. 2014 saw the Oregon-based company wave “bye-bye” to Olympian Oscar Pistorius and NFL’ers Greg Hardy and Ray Rice.
What I don’t understand is why it took Nike so long to officially cut ties with Peterson.
This should have been a no-brainer, especially considering the NFL’s new zero-tolerance policy on domestic abuse. Nike didn’t waste any-time in terminating Ray Rice’s deal, so why did they initially suspend Peterson — outside the fact that a healthy, scandal-free AP is twice the back of a healthy, scandal-free Rice.
Nike knew all along that they were going to can the guy. Next time instead of waiting for the court to force your hand, take a lesson from your motto and “Just Do It.”