Corporate sponsor Champion announced that they were dropping Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall as an endorser for the sparkplug manufacturer. The incomplete comes on the heels of some tweets the pro baller made regarding celebrating the death of Osama Bin Laden.
A statement from Champion reads, in part: "Champion is a strong supporter of the government's efforts to fight terrorism and is very appreciative of the dedication and commitment of the U.S. Armed Forces. Earlier this week, Rashard Mendenhall, who endorses Champion products, expressed personal comments and opinions regarding Osama bin Laden and the September 11 terrorist attacks that were inconsistent with the values of the Champion brand and with which we strongly disagreed."
Champion can hire or fire whomever they want, obviously, but it's interesting that one of the stalwart Constitutional rights that keeps terrorism at bay is Freedom of Speech. Seems like Champion is more interested in not pissing off a segment of its customer base than they are in truly supporting "the government's efforts to fight terrorism."
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