Reebok halts sales of Vick jerseys
Nike also distances itself from star facing charges
Saying the charges against Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick are "too disturbing to ignore," Reebok International Ltd. yesterday halted sales of the superstar athlete's jersey.
Vick on Thursday pleaded not guilty to federal criminal charges stemming from a dogfighting ring that he was allegedly involved in.
For its part, Reebok has said that that even though its apparel deal is with the National Football League and not Vick himself, it had stopped selling Vick merchandise. The company also is allowing retailers with Vick products to return them without penalty.
The move came on the same day that Nike Inc., for which Vick is an endorser, suspended him without pay and pulled his merchandise from its stores. In distancing themselves from him, both companies issued carefully worded statements saying they respected the legal process that Vick still faces.
Still, it was an unprecedented move for Reebok, an athletic apparel company whose lifestyle marketing push in recent years has led it to endorsement deals with other athletes and entertainers who have had brushes with the law. Curtis Jackson, better known as the rapper 50 Cent, has a sneaker and apparel deal with Reebok and is also an admitted former Queens, N.Y., drug dealer who did time in the 1990s after a drug conviction. Shawn Carter, better known as the rapper Jay-Z, also has a Reebok deal but says he was a drug dealer in his native Brooklyn as a youth.
In 2002, basketball star and Reebok pitchman Allen Iverson faced felony charges that he allegedly stormed another man's apartment and threatened two people with a gun. Those charges were dropped.
"At some point, both Reebok and probably consumers are being hypocritical about the whole thing. However, at this point, it looks like the smart thing to do is to disassociate yourself from anything that has to do with Michael Vick," said Jon Hickey, senior vice president of sports and entertainment marketing at Boston ad firm Mullen.
Reebok spokeswoman Denise Kaigler said that pulling Vick merchandise is unprecedented for the company and underscored the seriousness with which the Canton company views the charges against him. While she acknowledged the validity of questions about Reebok's handling of Vick compared with other celebrity endorsers, Kaigler said Reebok has the responsibility to evaluate each situation individually. One major difference between 50 Cent and Vick is that the rapper's convictions came years before his stardom and endorsement deal.
The same applies to Jay-Z, who, Kaigler pointed out, was never charged with any crimes.
"The difference is that the relationships that we have with some of the artists, those relationships were started after some of the issues that they may have had in their lives," she said.
In Iverson's case, Reebok executives met with the star and determined that they would issue a statement supporting him.
"We've worked with Allen for many years and when he told us that it wasn't true, we believed him. And the charges were dropped," she said.
Unlike Nike's decision to pull Vick merchandise and suspend him, Reebok's move is unlikely to hurt Vick financially, Hickey said. Revenue from jersey sales is divided among NFL teams, he said.
Still, the damage to his marketability may already be done.
"The consumer, even the fan, tends to forget about that a year or two later if he performs well on the field. But corporate America doesn't. " Hickey said.
Keith Reed can be reached at reed@globe.com. 