The "Neuter Vick" T-shirts that appeared on EBay shortly after Michael Vick's legal troubles became public knowledge captured the burgeoning and sometimes ugly backlash against the NFL star.
On Monday, the beleaguered Vick agreed to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with an illegal dogfighting ring that was operating on property he owns in rural Virginia. But his public image as the talented Atlanta Falcons quarterback already was badly damaged.
Last month, when he was indicted, Vick's marketing strength dissipated as his troubles grew. The NFL told the former No. 1 draft choice to stay away from training camp. Rawlings unceremoniously dumped him as a pitchman for inflatable footballs and other sporting goods. Upper Deck pulled his newest trading card. Reebok halted sales of his No. 7 Falcons jersey. And Nike delayed the introduction of its Air Zoom Vick V shoe.
Monday's guilty plea, legal observers said, is designed to head off additional federal charges after three co-defendants pleaded guilty and indicated they would testify that Vick helped execute dogs that lost fights. That last allegation may have been the end to his marketability, given the repercussions of the societal taboo against animal abuse.
But given the rush to the exits by Vick's existing corporate partners, sports marketing and public relations specialists suspect that the former Virginia Tech star's days as a product pitchman were already over.
"I expect all the corporations to run away from him," said Ronn Torossian, president of New York-based 5W Public Relations. "His brand is finished. It's over with.
"Today is the sign that Michael Vick is untouchable for corporate America. The best PR advice I would have for Michael Vick is to work out hard and try to stay in shape because if he's going to make any money it's going to be on the field, not off."
Other athletes, most notably Kobe Bryant and Ray Lewis, offer proof that it's possible for athletes to weather off-the-field legal crises. Neither athlete was found guilty, but both were hurt off the field by the allegations because, in the sports marketing arena, corporations strive mightily to protect their carefully honed images from even the faintest whiff of scandal.
Nike stuck by Bryant after he was charged with felony sexual assault in 2003, but didn't feature him in a major advertising campaign until 10 months after the charges were dropped in 2005. That campaign succeeded, an advertising professor said at the time, because it portrayed the Lakers star "as a real person who has made mistakes."
