This is where voices like Nick Symmonds need to be heard more. I don't have a problem w/ the USOC selling sponsorship rights to Nike. That is how they fund themselves.
HOWEVER, there is a HUGE problem when the USOC and the USATF enforce rules that funnels all sponsorship money to them rather than the athletes.
Desi and others can only afford to be an athlete because Brooks or (insert running company logo here) sponsors them. When USOC and USATF insist on restricting the athletes access to sponsorship money in order to line their own pockets, we end up with fewer athletes who can afford the elite running lifestyle.
Endurance sports don't sell tickets. TV coverage (as we saw this weekend) is spotty at best. The only revenue source available for athletes is sponsorship, and when the national agencies act in a greedy and corrupt manner, they take money out of our athletes pockets. There is enough money in the sport to allow another layer of athletes, folks who don't have names like Hall, Meb, Ritz, Flanagan, or Goucher to make a living at the sport. However, when the USATF and USOC try to use their regulatory power to corner the ONLY source of athlete's income, they keep that from happening. Imagine if a 2:14 marathon time could secure enough income to pay for a year's worth of health insurance and mortgage payments. How many more runners would be able to truly see what would happen if they put training first?
Anyway, Desi was just doing what she has to do to protect the people who finance her running. I've no beef w/ Nike, but I do have a beef with the rules that funnel money away from athletes and to the agencies.