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LONDON. — Nike have announced that Neymar’s lucrative sponsorship deal was terminated after he “refused to cooperate” in an internal sexual assault investigation involving himself and an employee.
Neymar was first signed by Nike at the age of 13 and was handed an 11-year contract, worth a reported US$105 million (£74m), which was due to run until 2022.
But Nike ended their partnership with Neymar last September and the Brazilian forward subsequently signed a deal with Puma.
Nike did not disclose a reason for dropping Neymar but The Wall Street Journal has revealed that the split came following an investigation into allegations that the 29-year-old had sexually assaulted a female employee.
The Nike employee has alleged that in 2016, Neymar attempted to force her to perform oral sex in his hotel room after a promotional event in New York.
It’s alleged that after taking off his underwear, the Brazilian attempted to block her from leaving the room and chased her down the hallway.
The employee made a complaint to Nike in 2018 and an internal investigation was launched the following year with the sportswear giant appointing a team of independent lawyers to conduct interviews with witnesses.
Nike has confirmed that the findings from the investigation were ‘inconclusive’ but the company decided to drop Neymar because he “refused to cooperate in a good faith investigation of credible allegations of wrongdoing by an employee”. A spokeswoman for Neymar has denied the allegations. – Metro.
Online Reporter