Nike Doesn’t Want To Be Associated With Adrian Peterson Right Now

apnikeEven before Nike took over as the official supplier of NFL jerseys, one of the company’s highest-profile NFL endorsement deals was with Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. But now that the Pro Bowl back faces allegations of child abuse, Nike has decided it’s probably a good time for the two to take a break from each other.

“Nike in no way condones child abuse or domestic violence of any kind and we have shared our concerns with the NFL,” the company told Reuters earlier today, explaining why it suspended its contract with Peterson.

Peterson did not play with the team last weekend, following the revelation of a child endangerment indictment in Texas. On Tuesday, the team said that the running back would be rejoining the team pending the outcome of the investigation, but the Vikings have since backtracked, suspending him from all team activities.

In response to the Peterson indictment and the release of security camera footage of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice knocking his wife unconscious in an Atlantic City hotel elevator, a number of people are putting pressure on the NFL’s biggest advertisers to use their leverage to get the league to get serious about off-the-field violence.

Yesterday, the world’s largest beer producer — and one of the NFL’s biggest sponsors — Anheuser-Busch InBev said it was “disappointed and increasingly concerned” by these recent incidents, and that the company was “not yet satisfied with the league’s handling of behaviors that so clearly go against our own company culture and moral code.”

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