Six degrees of separation is probably even smaller in the professional running world.
Be careful who you offend as it will hurt your attempts to garner sponsorships, and enter races. Everyone knows or in many cases worked with someone else.
Example. Employee A works for Adidas but came from Brooks. Employee B also works at Adidas but came from Nike. Employee C works for Under Armour but came from Nike. Employee D is now at New Balance but came from Brooks.
All of the above are still friends and are in constant communication. If you pissed off one of them, they all know about it. Even if you think you were right, you are quickly labeled.
If you wonder why certain people can not get a contract while lesser quality people can. This is a major factor.