Corporate sponsors of Olympic "blade runner" Oscar Pistorius have begun to distance themselves from the sprinter, who is accused of murdering his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius is back to court in South Africa Tuesday morning on murder charges.
Oakley, the eye wear manufacturer, and the sporting goods giant Nike announced today that they would no longer run ads featuring Pistorius, the South African double-amputee who gained worldwide fame for running on carbon-fiber blades.
"In light of the recent allegations, Oakley is suspending its contract with Oscar Pistorius, effective immediately. Our hearts are with the families during this difficult time and we'll continue to follow the developments in this tragic case," Oakley spokeswoman Cheri Quigley said in a statement released this afternoon.
Earlier in the day, Nike said it had "no plans" to use Pistorius in future ad campaigns, according to the Associated Press. Nike had already pulled an Internet ad showing Pistorius starting to sprint with the caption, "I am the bullet in the chamber."
The companies made their announcements shortly after Pistorius' own agent, Peet Van Zyl, said publicly that he expected the sponsors to stick with Pistorius through the legal process.
Plus, the Olympic Committee is threatening to take his medals away that he won in the Olympics because of possible steroid usage and, of course, he may go to jail for murder. What next? Just dawned on me ..... why would they want him to endorse shoes? Then I checked and found out why, see above.
