Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall’s controversial Twitter comments about Osama Bin Laden have caused him to lose his endorsement with the apparel company Champion, USA Today reports.
Champion is “ending our business relationship” with Mendenhall since the athletic brand doesn’t think he “can appropriately represent Champion,” spokesman Matt Hall told Game On! Thursday night.
This isn’t surprising, of course. Mendenhall suggested Americans were rushing to judgment on Bin Laden and that he had not been able to give his side of the story. He also said he wasn’t sure Bin Laden was responsible for the attacks on 9/11, and implied that the U.S. government was hiding the truth. These views are, if not exactly unusual in the U.S., still well outside the mainstream, and it would be surprising if Mendenhall were able to hold onto any endorsement deal at this point. I suppose this is why most athletes’ public personae are so bland.