Classic Nike - drops Will Leer two months out from the Olympic trials

Do you actually have evidence that Nike has dropped him? The whole "Will Leer Hates Nike" thing has been going around on these boards for a while now. Haven't heard anything from the nike end though.

Although interesting, Saucony commented on his pic (obviously Julian Matthews is in it) that it was a good tip. Baseless speculation: Leer-->Saucony.

evidence? wrote:

Do you actually have evidence that Nike has dropped him? The whole "Will Leer Hates Nike" thing has been going around on these boards for a while now. Haven't heard anything from the nike end though.

Hiding swooshes with strategic folding or blurs is one thing, straight up physically removing them from your race kit is another; dudes off that Nike payroll for sure.

If true, Leer got himself dumped.

Either by his constant bashing of his sponsor or never come through on the track when it counted. I don't know why these dips think it's okay to act like total buffoons and then cry when there are consequences.

Face it, he was lucky to get sponsored AT all. By any measure he should be out of the sport, flipping burgers.

oLD 800M DUDE wrote:

If true, Leer got himself dumped.

Either by his constant bashing of his sponsor or never come through on the track when it counted. I don't know why these dips think it's okay to act like total buffoons and then cry when there are consequences.

Face it, he was lucky to get sponsored AT all. By any measure he should be out of the sport, flipping burgers.

When was the last time he ran anything sponsor worthy?

Time to stop thinking he really has any chance of making it to Rio and start putting that college degree to work at a real job

jenapharm wrote:

oLD 800M DUDE wrote:

If true, Leer got himself dumped.

Either by his constant bashing of his sponsor or never come through on the track when it counted. I don't know why these dips think it's okay to act like total buffoons and then cry when there are consequences.

Face it, he was lucky to get sponsored AT all. By any measure he should be out of the sport, flipping burgers.

When was the last time he ran anything sponsor worthy?

Time to stop thinking he really has any chance of making it to Rio and start putting that college degree to work at a real job

Exactly. Leer's bigger problem was the impediment of injuries.

Dewey_Runner wrote:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BE4TtEuv610/?taken-by=williamleer

(Nike logo stripped from his singlet, shorts, spikes)

A gutting move to make preceding the most important race of the year for most U.S. distance pros.

Obviously contracts end when they end but you'd think they could've spared the gear and the extra couple of month's salary to have him racing in swooshes at the trials.

Given his performance history, I'm shocked that he wasn't dropped sooner.

Sure, lots of runners underperform, but guys like Solinsky and Webb at least have periods in which they're spectacular, which suggest that it might be a good idea to keep sponsoring them and hope that it pays off when they're back on their game.

As far as I know, Leer has never been on his game, and has a history of whining when he loses. I still remember back in 2012 when he claimed that Lagat being in the US championship 1500m race was the reason he performed poorly.

oLD 800M DUDE wrote:

If true, Leer got himself dumped.

Either by his constant bashing of his sponsor or never come through on the track when it counted. I don't know why these dips think it's okay to act like total buffoons and then cry when there are consequences.

Face it, he was lucky to get sponsored AT all. By any measure he should be out of the sport, flipping burgers.

You don't think a 3:51 guy has the credentials to be sponsored? Tough crowd!

It's not about credentials.

It's about what have you run lately.

Hoka One One

You guys are all so obsessed with his performances, yes it's his job to run fast, but it's also about being popular, getting people to like you and reaching out to people who will buy your product. If it was all based on performance, very few Americans right now would be sponsored. Do you think every Kenyan who is as good as him has as good a contract as him? There is a reason other companies such as Run Gum, SOS, Sweat, and Roll Recovery are sponsoring him. And if he doesn't want to rep Nike he doesn't have to. Also I don't think he's whining about Nike, it's clearly his choice to not represent them.

BullSh*t he took nike $$ for years.

#fs wrote:

You guys are all so obsessed with his performances, yes it's his job to run fast, but it's also about being popular, getting people to like you and reaching out to people who will buy your product. If it was all based on performance, very few Americans right now would be sponsored. Do you think every Kenyan who is as good as him has as good a contract as him? There is a reason other companies such as Run Gum, SOS, Sweat, and Roll Recovery are sponsoring him. And if he doesn't want to rep Nike he doesn't have to. Also I don't think he's whining about Nike, it's clearly his choice to not represent them.

Wow he really is straight up blurring out logos. There's no question that he either already has parted ways with Nike or perhaps they have notified him that his contract won't be renewed? If not, once they see his instagram they certainly won't be bringing him back. He's not wearing a RunGum or another brand's singlet though, which I would think he'd do if they already dropped him? Maybe some sort of protest of the Olympic logo restriction?

kjc wrote:

It's not about credentials.

It's about what have you run lately.

This is why you'll never make more than a fry cook in the sport.

How big an audience does the athlete bring? Does an association with the athlete sell more kit? Does the athlete's brand fit with the sponsor?

Nike's #1 criteria will be what they think you can do in the future. This is a business for them. If you aren't running top times or contending for international titles, then they are going to move on.

Nike also considers (to some degree) the social media presence, popularity, etc...

Will has had up and down years. He had a great year a couple of years ago and then seemed to be on his way out, but won the Bowerman Mile, which I think helped save him slightly.

But I have not heard about him racing anytime recently (in anything super substantive or fast). Not indoors and I cannot recall any major fall races.

It's possible Nike did a cutback on him and reduced his contract by some percentage. Or they told him they were ending the relationship when his current contract is done. Who knows? Will will speak about it when he is ready. He's never been shy about speaking his mind, and to his credit, I think he is well spoken. To those who wish to bash him for "running his mouth" or whatever those quotes were above, Will is one of the only people out there with the courage to speak up.

Good luck Will! Crush the trials and make Nike regret this - just like Meb has done!

plus he had surgery on both his abductor muscles last year. they detached or something crazy like that.he's hairy but is dating a babe runner, so...he's got that going for him

kjc wrote:

It's not about credentials.

It's about what have you run lately.

pop_pop!_v2.2.1 wrote:

kjc wrote:

It's not about credentials.

It's about what have you run lately.

This is why you'll never make more than a fry cook in the sport.

How big an audience does the athlete bring? Does an association with the athlete sell more kit? Does the athlete's brand fit with the sponsor?

Any U.S. distance runner who makes more than a 40 hour/ week fry cook is a great runner.

This is appropriate. Accurate.

Will is a good guy. Loved by the elite running community, and approachable for fans.

A great coach once said "let your legs do the talking". I think Will was letting his beard and mouth do too much talking, and the legs were left out.