The Clippers are losing sponsorships because of Donald Sterling’s alleged rant
The Clippers owner is now starting to feel the consequences of his words in his pocketbook.
Kirby Lee-US PRESSWIRE
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
The fallout from a recording of a racist rant alleged to be by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling continued on Monday when several corporate sponsors announced they would stop advertising with the franchise. State Farm, Kia, Virgin America and CarMax have each vowed to stop sponsoring the Clippers following the latest in a long line of disturbing racial comments by Sterling.
State Farm, who has made Clippers point guard Chris Paul the centerpiece of an ad campaign the last two seasons, said it will suspend its deal with the team and monitor the situation as it moves forward. State Farm released this statement:
Official Statement: pic.twitter.com/m3gnko2ex4
— State Farm (@StateFarm) April 28, 2014 Kia also has a visible deal with the Clippers’ other star, power forward Blake Griffin. Griffin has been starring in commercials for Kia for years and even jumped over one of their cars for his final attempt in the 2011 NBA Dunk Contest. Kia is also suspending their partnership with the franchise.
CarMax, who has sponsored the team for nine years, and Virgin America announced deals with the Clippers have been canceled completely. AquaHydrate is also suspending its sponsorship with Sterling’s team.
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