Crown

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35751916

Sponsors have moved quickly to distance themselves from Maria Sharapova after the five-time Grand Slam tennis champion admitted failing a drug test.

Nike has suspended its relationship, while Tag Heuer has cut its ties.

Nike said it was "saddened and surprised" at her admission that she tested positive for a banned substance at the Australian Open in January.

Ms Sharapova said she had been taking meldonium since 2006, on the advice of her family doctor.

She is one of the highest paid female athletes with earnings of over $30m last year from winnings and endorsements.

In addition to the moves from Nike and Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer, German carmaker Porsche said it was "postponing planned activities" with Ms Sharapova until the situation became clearer.

Nigel Currie, an independent sports consultant, said brands would not have responded so quickly five years ago, but they now have to react faster in the modern, social media environment.

"They are paranoid about their image, and the slightest risk to their image, they run to the hills."

Are Sharapova and sponsors heading for break point?

Sharapova case: How athletes have fallen foul of the rules

Nike 'monitoring situation'

Maria Sharapova's relationship with Nike dates back to when she was 11 years old.

Nike said: "We have decided to suspend our relationship with Maria while the investigation continues.

"We will continue to monitor the situation."

In 2010, the 28-year-old Russian tennis player signed a new eight-year contract with the US sportswear giant worth $70m (£49m) as well as a cut on sales of her own branded clothes.

Tag Heuer was in talks to extend its deal with Ms Sharapova, which ran out at the end of last year.

But the Swiss watchmaker said those talks had now been suspended and the company had decided not to renew the contract.

In 2014, Porsche named her as its first female ambassador and she signed a three-year deal with the car company.

That contract is due to end at the end of this year.

In a statement, the carmaker said: "We are saddened by the recent news announced by Maria Sharapova. Until further details are released and we can analyse the situation, we have chosen to postpone planned activities."

Ms Sharapova is also the face of Avon perfume, Luck, and the water company Evian. They have yet to comment on the matter.

Sponsors 'burned'

Paul Swangaurd, from the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon, said Nike's decision reflected a "new era" for the way sponsors deal with these issues.

Nike is taking a "very proactive approach", which resulted from "them being burned by a lot of athletes over the years, and growing impatient with putting so much investment behind athletes that potentially comes back to bite them in the court of public opinion".

Last month, Nike dropped Manny Pacquiao after the boxer said homosexual people were "worse than animals".

The company also severed ties with cyclist and drugs cheat Lance Armstrong as well as athlete Oscar Pistorius, who killed his girlfriend.

Ms Sharapova tested positive for meldonium, a substance she said she had been taking since 2006 for health issues.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said she would be provisionally suspended from 12 March.

Ms Sharapova said: "I did fail the test and take full responsibility for it."

She said she had taken meldonium after being given it by her family doctor and had known the drug by the name mildronate.

"A few days ago, after I received a letter from the ITF, I found out it also has another name of meldonium, which I did not know," she said.

What is meldonium?

It is meant for angina patients but athletes like it because it helps their endurance and ability to recover from intensive exercise.

It is on the banned list now because Wada started seeing it in lots of samples and found it does have performance-enhancing properties.

It was on Wada's 'watchlist' for over a year and added to the banned list on 1 January.

Made in Latvia, it is widely available - without prescription and at low cost - in many east European countries, but it is not licensed in most western countries, including the United States.

It is thought that hundreds of athletes have been using it and there are a lot more cases in the pipeline.

Always willing to comfort her if needed!

2003 BMW M3 CSL (sold) / 2008 Porsche 911 GT3 RS / 2013 MINI John Cooper Works GP / 2014 BMW Alpina D3 biturbo Touring

Porker:

Always willing to comfort her if needed!

Are you sure you could afford her? 

On a serious note: I think her career is over now. She claims she didn't know and that she takes Meldonium since 2006.

Well, why would a healthy young woman take Meldonium? Furthermore, I also believe that this drug has been specifically developed for doping or "enhancing" performance , the whole "history" of this drug actually indicates that. I wonder why it took so long to put this on the anti-doping list. Maybe because actually nobody was able to prove it's effectiveness yet? In a statistically valid trial? Maybe they put it now on the list because they wanted to make sure that nobody gets an advantage, just in case this drug actually works?

Also, as a professional, she and especially her trainer/doctor should have known about the updated anti-doping rules.

I feel sorry for her but I'd say...GAME OVER. 

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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Mini JCW (2015), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)

Well, if they only banned it on Jan 1, I really don't think it's as big of a deal as this is being made out to be. If it's not banned, then what's the big deal about taking it for the last 10 years?

noone1:

Well, if they only put it on the list a year ago, I'd say there is nothing wrong with her taking it during the time before it was banned.

It is my understanding that the new doping list is effective since January 1st 2016 and she has been tested positive during the Australian Open in January, after the new doping list has been in effect. At least she should have declared taking the drug before she started competing but she didn't.

Yes, there is nothing wrong with taking the drug before January 1st 2016 but unfortunately she competed in the Australian Open mid January 2016 and she didn't say a word about taking the drug before that.

She may be lucky to get a short temporary ban but to be honest, I doubt it. She is a high profile player and she knows the rules. At least she didn't try to hide anything and she went public. Not sure however if this helps.

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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Mini JCW (2015), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)

RC:

I wonder why it took so long to put this on the anti-doping list. Maybe because actually nobody was able to prove it's effectiveness yet? In a statistically valid trial? Maybe they put it now on the list because they wanted to make sure that nobody gets an advantage, just in case this drug actually works?

True, in the cat and mouse world of doping, the drugs being used and how they are used are always one step ahead of the tests, so the doping tests are always having to play catchup because the tests are at the unfair advantage of having to first discover the substance, then proving it is performance-enhancing, and then to be able to test for it, which is not always posible depending on how/when its taken, traces it leaves, false negatives, etc.

There is so much money in profesional sports that competition is such that everybody uses drugs, its just that very few get caught and are made an example of, but all most sports are mostly dirty... sad.

So when I see something like this pop in the news I don't blame so much the athelete but rather the sport, because I would be being hypocritical if I didn't put the same blame on all the other tenis players as well.

What really gets me is when non-profesionals use performance enhancing drugs, that is beyond sad, like when you see so many in the gym that you can recognise physically as using steriods...you are better off spending your time in therapy to find out why you would need to inject yourself with steroids for cosmetic reasons 

⇒ Carlos - Porsche 991 Carrera GTS

Well, it's not really like there was a time, at least not since before any of us can remember, when athletes where all "clean". For a long time, no one cared, and the only thing that testing has really accomplished is setting off an arms race. Does anyone really think that, for example, Lance Armstrong was the first person to win the TDF by doping? Probably everyone who has won the TDF, ever, has doped in some way.

Maybe the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction.

Too much money involved.

991 Carrera Black\Black, XC90 Black\Black, 120 Cab Black\Coral Red - 2 kids, 1 dog

Carlos from Spain:

 

True, in the cat and mouse world of doping, the drugs being used and how they are used are always one step ahead of the tests, so the doping tests are always having to play catchup because the tests are at the unfair advantage of having to first discover the substance, then proving it is performance-enhancing, and then to be able to test for it, which is not always posible depending on how/when its taken, traces it leaves, false negatives, etc.

There is so much money in profesional sports that competition is such that everybody uses drugs, its just that very few get caught and are made an example of, but all most sports are mostly dirty... sad.

So when I see something like this pop in the news I don't blame so much the athelete but rather the sport, because I would be being hypocritical if I didn't put the same blame on all the other tenis players as well.

What really gets me is when non-profesionals use performance enhancing drugs, that is beyond sad, like when you see so many in the gym that you can recognise physically as using steriods...you are better off spending your time in therapy to find out why you would need to inject yourself with steroids for cosmetic reasons 

There isn't a whole lot of difference between guys using steroids to look better, and girls who have eating disorders.  Something about body dysmorphic disorder. They can become psychologically addictive as well. You see lots of younger guys in the gym who are clearly abusing steroids, and most probably don't care what that will do to them when they hit their 40s. I knew a guy who abused them along with insulin, tamoxifen, clenbuterol and other drugs. Now, he's a 40-something fat diabetic with joint problems. Having said that, I think they can provide some positive benefits when used in moderation and correctly under some kind of medical supervision, and not by people who are too young. The problems occur when mega-doses are used in conjunction with other drugs to maximize their anabolic effects. Studies have shown some benefits on quality of life from moderate testosterone therapy in older guys. As for pro sports, well, either everyone should get to use them, or nobody. SNL had a skit one time about an "all steroid Olympics" which was pretty amusing. And when it comes to body builders and fitness competitors and magazine models - if you're making a living with your body, you're probably on something.

A well balanced diet is all you need. Taking any kind of supplement is a recipe for disaster later.

SciFrog:

A well balanced diet is all you need. Taking any kind of supplement is a recipe for disaster later.

Depends on your goals I suppose, but yes, diet is at least 80% of the battle.

Your body will compensate if you give supplements.

SciFrog:

Your body will compensate if you give supplements.

Not true at all. Supplements are a very wide range of substances, you are talking specifically with substances which are endogenously produced then yes, but only in some cases at that, like hormone or certain neurotransmiters, whose endognenous production may be downregulated if levels are artificially increased beyond normal physiological levels.

Supplements when in moderation and specially with sufficiient knowledge, can be very beneficial. That said, I rarely see either of those to premises happen. Most people dont have a clue and many go overboard and believe anything... people still take echinacea or vitamin C for colds so... 

⇒ Carlos - Porsche 991 Carrera GTS

The least artificial stuffs the better...

SciFrog:

The least artificial stuffs the better...

Genetics counts most and then I'd say mental health and happiness. Diet comes last, believe it or not. This is of course for people who lead a normal life and do not have extreme high levels of stress and/or drink a lot of alcohol and/or smoke. Won't even start with drug abuse and yes, even the daily sleeping pill is drug abuse and if you take your daily dose of Xanax or similar, good luck with that as well. 

The only supplement I take is 1000 mg of vitamin C in a timed released version. Not even sure it helps but I started taking it 20 years ago and I feel good about it. 

I do not drink, I do not smoke. Whoever drinks, smokes or takes drugs (yes, pot is a drug too ), no matter how much, shouldn't worry about artificial stuff or a healthy diet. 

No, I'm not into herbal medicine or homeopathy, I love drinking peppermint tea but only because it tastes good and homeopathy is for me the medicine of the dumb but I won't even start explaining it. Only this: After I saw for the first time  in university how a homeopathic remedy is prepared, I knew at once it is a sham. Actually, I know a doctor who is a homeopath and he writes a lot of homeopathic stuff for his patients but when he is ill, well...school medicine all along.  I know it because he buys it at my place. He isn't the only one. Most herbal medicine has some mild effects and helps to sooth things but when I cough, pain or when I have fever, I rely on chemistry, not plants. 

Now shoot me... 

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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Mini JCW (2015), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)

SciFrog:

The least artificial stuffs the better...

But that has no relation to taking supplements,  the mineral in a supplement is just as real as the one you would find in a piece of food, the one in the supplement may actually have greater bioavailability that the one in the food, and by allowing you to take it in isolation, will allow you to control the amount precisely and without any side effects of having to eat a disproportionate amount of food just to get the needed amount of mineral. For example if someone is taking magnesium citrate for a week because he is having muscle cramps in bed, try getting enough magnesium through food... 

And the reverse is very true, so many people think that herbs are natural, as opposed to the active ingredients being isolated, and therefore is automatically healthy. I will prefer the pharmaceutical product over the "natural" herb any day (because dose control, side effects, potency, control standards, and a long etc). Like older peopke who take shark cartilage for osteoarthritis instead of taking glucosamine/chondroitin because it's more natural when shark cartilage includes toxins, and is much less therapeutically potent, and I'm not even going to go on how they obtain that cartilage by massacring sharks...

I could not agree more about homeopathy RC, a minimal comand of physics will tell you that it is physically imposible that the resulting diluted homeopathinc preparation has any trace left of the active substance, not even an atom. But placebo can be a powerful thing.

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⇒ Carlos - Porsche 991 Carrera GTS

I'm sure the Vit D tablets I was prescribed after a parathyrodectomy were a placebo... the calcium helped pins & needles though! 

991 Carrera Black\Black, XC90 Black\Black, 120 Cab Black\Coral Red - 2 kids, 1 dog

bridggar:

I'm sure the Vit D tablets I was prescribed after a parathyrodectomy were a placebo... the calcium helped pins & needles though! 

This is a different story...apples and oranges...remember? 

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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Mini JCW (2015), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)