flgreen Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Twitter comments cost Mendenhall endorsement deal By Scott Brown, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW Friday, May 6, 2011 Photos click to enlarge Be a Facebook fan Follow us on Twitter E-mail Newsletters On your mobile Rashard Mendenhall's controversial Twitter comments this week about the death of Osama bin Laden and the 9/11 terrorist attacks have cost him an endorsement deal. Champion, an athletic apparel manufacturer, cut ties Thursday with the Steelers running back. Mendenhall recently signed a four-year contract with Champion and had been with the company since his NFL career started in 2008. "While we respect Mr. Mendenhall's right to express sincere thoughts regarding potentially controversial topics, we no longer belief that Mr. Mendenhall can appropriately represent Champion," the company said in a prepared statement. Mendenhall could not be reached for comment. His agent, Mike McCartney, did not immediately return a message. Mendenhall on Monday took exception to the celebrations sparked by the killing of bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. He questioned on the social-networking website Twitter how the planes flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City could have brought them down "demolition style." Champion said it "strongly disagreed" with Mendenhall's views. Mendenhall attempted to clarify his comments Wednesday and apologized if he "unintentionally harmed" anyone. He has been under fire since his comments sparked a national story — and caused Steelers president Art Rooney II to say in a statement that "it is hard to explain or even comprehend what he meant with his recent Twitter comments." Read more: Twitter comments cost Mendenhall endorsement deal - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_735693.html#ixzz1LZyASYUT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetsfan80 Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Further proof that you can never take back what you say on the internets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LWC611 Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Warning to social media fans Think before you post or tweet......Because once its out there, it is out there forever..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirlancemehlot Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Never been a twitter-guy, but this is one of the true benefits if you ask me. The people we look to as our entertainers, role models and public product endorsers actually expose themselves as morons and lose our admiration and the money their false images produce. Kudos to Champion for pulling his paycheck and to the public who refuse to respect or admire this uninformed dick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barcs Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Never been a twitter-guy, but this is one of the true benefits if you ask me. The people we look to as our entertainers, role models and public product endorsers actually expose themselves as morons and lose our admiration and the money their false images produce. Kudos to Champion for pulling his paycheck and to the public who refuse to respect or admire this uninformed dick. That's a problem with America today. We have freedom of speech, yet these corporations try to make people conform and only say things that they want them to say. It's really sad that someone can't express their opinion (controversial or not), without risking losing endorsement deals and whatnot. Why are these companies so afraid to let people speak their mind, especially when it's on a silly internet site like twitter? People follow all the gossip and drama on that site, but it all means nothing. I prefer talking about football and how athletes play the game, not what their personal beliefs are. I could care less. I'm a huge advocate of freedom of speech though, and it's clearly being curbed in this situation... I mean doesn't like 75% of our country believe in a religion that's way more unrealistic than most conspiracy theories? yet people aren't punished for endorsing it... Hmmmmm, now why would that be? Don't go against the popular belief, follow the masses and be a sheep, or get dropped! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt39 Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Champion? They're still around? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamont_jordan_rules Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 ... good for champion ... ... he's free to talk like an idiot ... ... they're free to say - hey idiot, take a hike! ... l_j_r Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New York Mick Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Champion? They're still around? That's the same thing I was thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleedin Green Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 That's a problem with America today. We have freedom of speech, yet these corporations try to make people conform and only say things that they want them to say. It's really sad that someone can't express their opinion (controversial or not), without risking losing endorsement deals and whatnot. Why are these companies so afraid to let people speak their mind, especially when it's on a silly internet site like twitter? People follow all the gossip and drama on that site, but it all means nothing. I prefer talking about football and how athletes play the game, not what their personal beliefs are. I could care less. I'm a huge advocate of freedom of speech though, and it's clearly being curbed in this situation... I mean doesn't like 75% of our country believe in a religion that's way more unrealistic than most conspiracy theories? yet people aren't punished for endorsing it... Hmmmmm, now why would that be? Don't go against the popular belief, follow the masses and be a sheep, or get dropped! I'm sorry, but this is a load of crap. Sure you have the freedom of speech, BUT that freedom comes with being responsible and accepting the consequences for that speech. If a company is paying someone money to be a representative of their company, they have every right to expect a certain image to be portrayed by that person whom they are paying. Just as Mendenhall has the freedom to express his opinions on the manner, Champion has the freedom to decide that they do not feel he is any longer reflecting the image that they are PAYING him to represent, and thus stop working with him. One person's freedom of speech doesn't overrule another persons freedoms. Trust me, there's a whole lot of things I could stand up and say in my office right now that are completely protected by my constitutional rights that will have me standing on the unemployment line by day's end. People need to take responsibility, and thus the consequences, for their own actions. Right now, Mendenhall is dealing with his. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flgreen Posted May 6, 2011 Author Share Posted May 6, 2011 I'm sorry, but this is a load of crap. Sure you have the freedom of speech, BUT that freedom comes with being responsible and accepting the consequences for that speech. If a company is paying someone money to be a representative of their company, they have every right to expect a certain image to be portrayed by that person whom they are paying. Just as Mendenhall has the freedom to express his opinions on the manner, Champion has the freedom to decide that they do not feel he is any longer reflecting the image that they are PAYING him to represent, and thus stop working with him. One person's freedom of speech doesn't overrule another persons freedoms. Trust me, there's a whole lot of things I could stand up and say in my office right now that are completely protected by my constitutional rights that will have me standing on the unemployment line by day's end. People need to take responsibility, and thus the consequences, for their own actions. Right now, Mendenhall is dealing with his. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slats Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 That's one truther. Any birthers lost their endorsement deals yet? Hate to see them miss out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visajets Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Champion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainzo Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 ... good for champion ... ... he's free to talk like an idiot ... ... they're free to say - hey idiot, take a hike! ... This. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaJetsFan Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 That's a problem with America today. We have freedom of speech, yet these corporations try to make people conform and only say things that they want them to say. It's really sad that someone can't express their opinion (controversial or not), without risking losing endorsement deals and whatnot. Why are these companies so afraid to let people speak their mind, especially when it's on a silly internet site like twitter? People follow all the gossip and drama on that site, but it all means nothing. I prefer talking about football and how athletes play the game, not what their personal beliefs are. I could care less. I'm a huge advocate of freedom of speech though, and it's clearly being curbed in this situation... I mean doesn't like 75% of our country believe in a religion that's way more unrealistic than most conspiracy theories? yet people aren't punished for endorsing it... Hmmmmm, now why would that be? Don't go against the popular belief, follow the masses and be a sheep, or get dropped! And I quote - "First of all, we watched in horror as parts of the world celebrated death of innocents on our soil. Is it so wrong for us to celebrate that murderer’s death? For 10 long years, the spectre of Osama Bin Laden has hung over this country like a rain cloud, while he mocked us from afar. The United States has gotten into two separate wars using OBL/Al-Qaeda as justification, and it has had a terrible impact on our economy and life at home. What’s worse, this was the monster’s plan all along. Maybe taking to the streets in celebration is not the most enlightened thing to do, but it’s certainly understandable that the U.S. population would feel an overwhelming sense of relief to know that the person ultimately responsible for bringing us so much pain has finally been brought to justice. It’s not so much that OBL is dead, it’s that we finally found him. The other problem with Mendenhall’s clarification is that he completely glosses over the “We’ve only heard one side…” bit. What does that mean? To the average reader, it sounds like Mendenhall wants us to better understand OBL’s reasoning for attacking the World Trade Center that day. The thing is, we understand it. Mendenhall is the one that doesn’t get it. He says we haven’t heard OBL speak. Only we have, in countless recordings and video tapes." You may defend Mendenhall if you want to. You're wrong, but it's your choice to be wrong. I think he should be released and forced to live on the salary of a 23 year old soldier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barcs Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 haha, ok, both of you misunderstood my point. I don't care if the corporation has a right to drop him. I wasn't arguing that. I simply said that they are over reacting to his personal beliefs, and trying to control what he says. Would they drop him if he promoted say, Christianity instead? Did they tell him ahead of time not to support 9/11 conspiracy theories? I doubt it, they probably just got all emotional, as many do, about it and reacted accordingly. I won't get fired at work for doing something that was never against the rules. It's clearly an attack on free speech and if you don't realize this, then you are purposely ignoring it. I don't know Mendenhall personally, but as per Bin Laden, the reason behind 9/11 was our meddling in the middle east over the last couple decades and our blind support of Israel. That's based on what he said after 9/11, which could be the "other side" of the story he's talking about. That's the problem with twitter and other social networking sites. People act like 12 year drama queens and can't articulate their full point. A comment like that can be interpreted in many ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.