Shawne Merriman in new Nike ad = Hypocrisy?

by JasonB on Oct 7, 2007 2:23 AM EDT in Philadelphia Eagles News

Back when Michael Vick was indicted on charges of dog fighting, Nike saw fit to end their relationship and no longer have him as a spokesperson for their company.

Nike is concerned by the serious and highly disturbing allegations made against Michael Vick and we consider any cruelty to animals inhumane and abhorrent.

I don't think many people disagreed with Nike's decision as certainly a big company like that would not want someone endorsing their product who is bringing their company and his name into disrepute... So you can imagine my surprise when I saw their latest TV spot running during NFL games this season entitled "Leave Nothing" which features proven steroid user Shawne Merriman.

No one will argue that an athlete using steroids is worse than what Mike Vick did. All Merriman did was put himself at risk & hurt his own body, although some QBs might disagree about the latter... Vick cruelly tortured and killed dogs while also funding an illegal gambling ring. That said, it's hard to see how Nike can justify keeping Merriman on as a spokesman while dumping Vick.

This a company that supports athletics, pushes hard work & training, and heavily markets their products to kids. If you go to their website you'll see that they run and sponsor football camps for kids all over the country. Of course, to get to that screen you must first click through a picture of Merriman. On their site they say "Train like the pros. Work your speed, increase muscular power, and develop more explosive impact." Again, this comes after you click through the Merriman commercial. I'm not reaching here. You can't have a proven steroid user endorsing your product on one page and say "Train like the pros" on the next! They might as well show Merriman with a syringe in his arm and a fistful of illegal performance enhancing drugs with a headline that says "Train like the pros". Shouldn't cheating and using steroids be a cardinal sin to a company like Nike?

To take it a step further, you'd think that a company trying to distance themselves from Vick and the stigma attached to him, would replace him with a guy that better embodies what that company claims to be all about. There's many great players in the NFL who are good guys that got to where they are by working hard and being natural and Nike picks Shawne Merriman to be a representative of their company? I like Nike, I wear Nikes... but I gotta say that they are revealing a whole lot about their character as a company by making a proven cheater and steroid user their face.

Anyway, here is the spot.

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Vick = Gangsta Moron

"No one will argue that an athlete using steroids is worse than what Mike Vick did."

Correct that to "no dog lover". Some of us who don't think dog, cock, and bull fighting are anything to get worked up over really don't care about the Mike Vick saga other than the whole sordid and foolish criminal angle of it.

Vick was simply mind bogglingly dumb. Merriman is a sinkin' cheater who corrupted the game, like Roidney Harrison and the New England Cheatriots.

by Andrew @ Bleeding Green Nation on Oct 7, 2007 7:13 AM EDT reply actions

Agreed.

If Nike really cared about setting a good example for kids and the integrity of the athletes they sponsor, they would've dropped Merriman following his suspension for steroids. Unfortunately, I think there's a much larger problem at work here.

The NFL has been largely exonerated from the entire steroid/HGH debacle in pro sports, despite the fact that several players have tested positive (and/or admitted to use) in the past few years. This phenomenon comes despite the fact that NFL players seemingly have the most to gain from steroid/HGH use than athletes in any other sport -- explosive strength, power, and better recovery times are extremely important in today's pro football game.

Despite this logical connection, the NFL hasn't come under fire at all, while sports like baseball and cycling stay at the heart of the maelstrom. The question is, obviously, why? The NFL probably has a greater percentage of players juicing than any other sport (again, they have the most to gain from the benefits of steroids).

The answer to this question should also be obvious: money. The sport's simply never been more popular than it is now. While baseball has been floundering for several years, the NFL has been thriving. I believe the NFL is so incredibly profitable (and therefore powerful) that all the crusaders against steroids are deathly afraid to go after them. Neither the mainstream media, the federal government, nor NFL management have any interest in blowing this issue up, because it will only hurt the game that has been turning incredible profits for the past several years. The NFL also has a history of putting enormous pressure on media companies that threaten their image (remember ESPN's football soap opera "Playmakers"?)

If pro football was struggling, you can bet that Merriman would've lost his Nike contract. You can also bet that we'd see some really strict drug testing in the NFL, and it would be Bill Romanowski and Rodney Harrison testifying in front of Congress, rather than Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmiero.

by rhy on Oct 7, 2007 11:39 AM EDT reply actions

I'm still waiting for the results

of the league's "investigation" of the Carolina Panthers. Did I somehow miss it?

Bleeding Green Nation

by Dire Radiant on Oct 7, 2007 7:04 PM EDT up reply actions

The Reality is

a lot of players do drugs, it's just the way it is. The league knows it. Why would the NFL want to catch even more players? it would kill the game because everyone would cry that the NFL has no integrity either. Just keep the public dumb in thinking no one does steroids or hgh

by JoeD on Oct 7, 2007 2:23 PM EDT reply actions

Will come out eventually.

People can only live in ignorance so long. Nobody wanted to believe Canseco so they didn't, even though it was blatantly obvious to anyone without a vested interested in MLB. The same goes for the NFL now. Do you deal with the problem today, and be proactive, or do you let it linger and have a bigger problem 5 years from now.

by brooksy on Oct 7, 2007 3:20 PM EDT up reply actions

re:drugs

I say we keep on doing what we're doing. Eventually this whole steroid thing will die down. If the NFL makes a big deal of it, it's just going to kill the sport. Just like when barry bonds got caught it was a huge deal and it hurt baseball. The best thing to do is keep the public ignorant an dkeep doing it. most people will believe their favorite athletes are drug free, so the best thing for the league to do is to keep that mentality. We can't have it blow up like baseball

by JoeD on Oct 7, 2007 4:37 PM EDT reply actions