NICK SYMMONDS WITHOUT A SPONSOR

Your tweet has made you an item at correctional facilities, US Navy installations, and Texas.

It's a bit strange they choose now to drop him. Surely his stock is at a high in his career given he won his first global medal?

Or maybe his character isn't appealing? He recently tweeted:

Want to know more about the bullies controlling professional T&F? I have a book coming out in 2014 that delves deep into this subject.

Maybe Nike aren't liking what he'll be saying?

eldanielfire wrote:

It's a bit strange they choose now to drop him. Surely his stock is at a high in his career given he won his first global medal?

Or maybe his character isn't appealing? He recently tweeted:

Want to know more about the bullies controlling professional T&F? I have a book coming out in 2014 that delves deep into this subject.

Maybe Nike aren't liking what he'll be saying?

nike might not have CHOSE to drop him, symmonds may have wanted more than they were offering.

Did performances by Manzano(Oly Silver), Rutherford(Oly Gold) and Symmonds(WC Silver) all in the end screw themselves? Sure each one had in their Nike contract a large bonus if they were to medal at one of those two meets and wonder if Nike really thought there was no way in hell any of them would do it so they made that bonus really high. Then when they all came through and Nike had to pay out they each lost their appeal

I think this is just another marketing/media/attention ploy from Symmonds. He's good at getting people talking.

I doubt he's been dropped by Nike. I imagine his contract is just up & while he could be generating buzz to prove his worth/play hardball, it could just be general attention seeking antics (which, again is what has increased his worth over time, made him known outside the track). Think of the sheer number of articles, forum comments, page hits, retweets, etc that this single provocative (but vague) tweet from him has received.

He's playing up the drama but there may not actually be any. No doubt he'll blog about it, but only after he's gotten us all talking about it. It's brilliant, really.

I wouldn't be shocked if he goes with a non-Nike sponsor as he's already hinted at playing the damn the man card like Fleshman.

Hopeful Runner wrote:

not for long

We can confirm that there will be an announcement coming out Thursday.

LetsRun.com wrote:

We can confirm that there will be an announcement coming out Thursday.

Source?

coach d wrote:

Question is, did Nike dump him for speaking his mind or did he decide to dump the evil empire? I know he spent some time with Leo at La Loma (and the additional strength may have factored in his silver), some time in Malibu, and there was talk about him maybe moving to Beverly Hills (to be near Paris?), so this is something he might have been planning.

There are several options outside Oregon, including going with Joaquim Cruz in San Diego and Johnny Gray (now in Orlando I believe).

1. Evil empire? Please elnilghten me.

2. Paris? Haha pur bs coach d

3. Gray is not realistic

his contract probably expired...what's so weird about that

Nike is Oregon's genteel version of the Mafia.

It's nothing personal, Nick. It's strictly business.

Wossamotta wrote:

He hasn't gotten dropped. He made a choice.

I'm not forming an opinion until the story plays out.

pearl izumi? They have a certain edge like Symmonds does.

80sVeteran wrote:

pearl izumi? They have a certain edge like Symmonds does.

Pearl Izumi is the death knell right before your career is over...

Clearly Symmonds loves Rowlands as a coach. By not going with Nike as a sponsor he wouldn't be able to be part of that OTC group. I don't know if nike would let Rowland coach a non-nike athlete but I doubt it. If that assumption is correct it seems obvious that he will be staying with Rowland and Nike. Speaking of which who is Lauren Fleshman's coach now?

manzano is still unsponsored according to his twitter 12 minutes ago

too bad

is it meaningful that Nick said he doesn't have an 'apparel' sponsor?

He didn't mention shoes.

Maybe he cut some strange deal with Nike in which Nick wears the shoes, stays with OTC but can wear his own clothes?

Doesn't sound possible

wicker wrote:

is it meaningful that Nick said he doesn't have an 'apparel' sponsor?

He didn't mention shoes.

Maybe he cut some strange deal with Nike in which Nick wears the shoes, stays with OTC but can wear his own clothes?

Doesn't sound possible

He could do that if he decides to sign with Oiselle. Real game changer!

Stimpy wrote:

wicker wrote:

is it meaningful that Nick said he doesn't have an 'apparel' sponsor?

He didn't mention shoes.

Maybe he cut some strange deal with Nike in which Nick wears the shoes, stays with OTC but can wear his own clothes?

Doesn't sound possible

He could do that if he decides to sign with Oiselle. Real game changer!

Not meaningful. It is well-known that Symmonds has other sponsors. This is similar to when Ryan Hall's Asics deal running out, but he may still have his Nissan sponsorship. Or, Lolo Jones with Asics, Red Bull, BP, and others.

Also, FWIW, the Nike logo still appears on Nick's website as a sponsor.

A Quack wrote:

Clearly Symmonds loves Rowlands as a coach. By not going with Nike as a sponsor he wouldn't be able to be part of that OTC group. I don't know if nike would let Rowland coach a non-nike athlete but I doubt it. If that assumption is correct it seems obvious that he will be staying with Rowland and Nike. Speaking of which who is Lauren Fleshman's coach now?

Yes, and Symmonds has stated a lot about his goals for 2014 with Rowland and OTC.

I'm not going to form a firm opinion until the story fully plays out...but it would seem out of pattern for him to have decided to leave...

I'm hoping this was just a publicity move so he can announce with more fanfare his re-upping with Nike. (Nike could and would do well to be ahead of the curve of an eventual revolution of track athletes/TFAA rising up and demanding more power and self-determination on their sponsorship allotments etc.

I guess we'll know more soon. While I don't always agree with his opinions and antics, I think he is good for the sport...but the sport is so small in the USA...who cares what we think...that's pretty much the driving reality. Sadly.

I'd much rather see Nick and Nike forge a life long relationship so that he could help build OTC into the future...he's been a solid pillar of foundation for OTC/Eugene for a good long time now...and I assume he is a very well liked figure in Eugene-Springfield as he has always raced well at Hayward, and spoken so well as an ambassador of the area.

The beer mile thing, though, is just not a good pr move. As a sportsman, and a hunter, who has promoted fishing and hunting in Oregon, the guy is a good ambassador for the tourist board, and not just a one dimensional athlete. His going public on his gun control opinions, again, divisive and not the best pr move. I do respect his right to free speech, and if by some stretch that pissed off someone at Nike, they could have, and still could go the other direction and champion his free speech and outspokenness and build a whole campaign around him (update the song "He's a Rebel," and push an angle like that perhaps...he's an all American boy, a bit of a renaissance man, a good guy at heart, near male model good looks...the right promoter/campaign at Nike could easily earn his contract dollars back. (Look at how they leveraged Wheating in their in store display ads...)

With the right visionary at his side, mentoring him, they could leverage his personality, leadership, outspoken nature, and strong ability to be well spoken in front of a camera into a marketing campaign that a Nike looking a bit outside of the box (supposedly their heritage) could well profit from. But again, our sport is now so small and uncared about and uncared for...our opinions mean next to nothing.

Hopefully, the joke will be on us and he'll announce a resigning with Nike and all their investment, and his promotion of them in the past, will continue to pay off for each of them.