Nike announced Thursday night it terminated its sponsorship with Brazilian soccer superstar Neymar after he refused to participate in the investigation of a sexual assault allegation made by a company employee.
The company issued a statement saying the investigation did not yield any conclusion as to whether an assault occurred, but the company ended its relationship with Neymar because he would not comply with investigators:
“No single set of facts emerged that would enable us to speak substantively on the matter,” Nike said in a statement, via Kevin Draper of the New York Times. “It would be inappropriate for Nike to make an accusatory statement without being able to provide supporting facts. Nike ended its relationship with the athlete because he refused to cooperate in a good faith investigation of credible allegations of wrongdoing by an employee.”
The Wall Street Journal first reported Thursday night a female Nike employee filed a complaint to the company in 2018 detailing a 2016 incident in which Neymar allegedly tried to force her to perform oral sex on him.
A spokeswoman for Neymar denied the allegations:
“Neymar Jr. will vigorously defend himself against these baseless attacks in case any claim is presented, which did not happen so far,” the spokeswoman said in a statement, via WSJ.
The spokeswoman also stated Neymar and Nike split for “commercial” reasons, per the Journal, though Nike has since confirmed the termination occurred because of the Paris Saint-Germain star's refusal to cooperate with the company's investigation of the incident.
Nike first signed Neymar in 2006, when he was a 13-year-old phenom. However, the partnership has since ended amid the sexual assault allegations.
It remains to be seen whether Nike will take additional steps on this matter, if the investigation has really reached its end.
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