A handful of corporations have taken their sponsorships and left the company of the Los Angeles Clippers over perceived racist remarks attributed to owner Donald Sterling.
BuzzFeed listed a few: Red Bull, CarMax, Kia and Virgin America. Another — Mandalay Bay Resort — reportedly is mulling a similar action.
Corona pulled sponsorship, after first saying it wouldn’t, and issued this statement through spokeswoman Emily Reynolds: “Like everyone else, Corona is appalled by the comments allegedly made by the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. These comments run counter to the type of brand Corona aspires to be. Because of this, we are suspending our sponsorship agreement with the Clippers until the NBC completes its investigation.”
Red Bull decision-makers said that while they trust the NBA’s promise to get to the root of the alleged comments, they are nonetheless pulling sponsorship, for the time being.
“We trust and respect the NBA’s process to formally investigate the matter, and in the interim, are suspending all team-related marketing activities,” the company said, in a statement reported by BuzzFeed. “We will continue to support our Red Bull athlete, Blake Griffin, his teammates and coaching staff in their pursuit of an NBA title.”
CarMax — the first sponsor to pull from the Clippers — was much more critical.
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“CarMax finds the statements attributed to the Clippers’ owner completely unacceptable. These views directly conflict with CarMax’s culture of respect,” the company said, BuzzFeed reported.
A couple more cutting ties: AQUAhydrate, which called Mr. Sterling’s alleged remarks “defamatory and intolerable,” and Sprint.
State Farm, meanwhile, said it was “taking a pause” in its professional relationship with the Clippers, BuzzFeed reported.
Mr. Sterling allegedly told his girlfriend not to “bring black people” to the games. He also allegedly said, in audio captured and released to the media: “I support [blacks] and give them food and clothes, and cars, and houses. Who gives it to them? Does someone else give it to them? … Do I make the game, or do they make the gage?”
The NBA is investigating those comments further.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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