Nike drops Oscar Pistorius

Nike drops Oscar Pistorius

Sep 13, 2014 by Christopher Chavez
Nike drops Oscar Pistorius

NIKE Inc. has terminated its contract with Oscar Pistorius, the South African Olympic double-amputee runner. Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide in the Valentine's Day shooting of his Reeva Steenkamp. ESPN’s Darren Rovell reported the dropping on Saturday afternoon. 

Last night, Pistorius was still under contract with NIKE. A NIKE South Africa spokeswoman said “The contract is still suspended.” She declined comment on the verdict.

Oakley Inc. also suspended its contract with Pistorius shortly after the shooting. 

Nike dropped Lance Armstrong in after a doping confession in Oct. 2012. Earlier in the week, NFL running back Ray Rice’s contract was cancelled after his domestic violence incident has taken the sports world by storm. Fellow track athlete Justin Gatlin was dropped after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2006. 

Pistorius will be sentenced next month and could face jail time. The maximum sentence could be up to 15 years in prison if convicted. He could also avoid being behind bars with community service and fines.

Chris Chavez is a writer at Flotrack and marathon analyst for ESPN. He once beat Joey Fatone of NSYNC in a half-marathon. Feel free to to reach him with any questions, comments, or feedback on Twitter or by email.