During a product marketing event in 2016, a female Nike employee was dragged into a hotel room by Neymar and forced to perform oral sex on her. After the incident broke out, Nike abruptly terminated the Brazilian star’s long-term sponsorship contract.
Neymar’s contract with Nike terminated over allegations of sexually assaulting a female employee
Controversial lawsuit
In August 2020, Nike terminated its contract with Neymar , one of the world’s most famous athletes, eight years early. According to the Wall Street Journal, the reason was because the Brazilian star sexually assaulted a female Nike employee.
The employee alleges that Neymar tried to force her to perform oral sex in his New York City hotel room in 2016. The employee was in New York to help Neymar coordinate events and logistics for the Brazilian star’s team. Other Nike employees also confirmed hearing the employee describe Neymar’s actions.
According to company documents, the female employee filed a complaint with Nike in 2018 and described the incident to the head of human resources and general counsel of the company. Nike hired a lawyer to conduct an investigation in 2019 and decided to stop advertising with Neymar during the investigation. However, Neymar did not cooperate with the investigation and Nike decided to terminate the contract.
Nike also said that the female employee initially wanted to keep the matter a secret, but then decided to take legal action against Neymar. Nike commissioned an independent investigation and independent counsel for the employee. Accordingly, she chose the lawyer and the company paid all the fees for it.
“From the beginning, we took the employee’s allegations seriously,” Hilary Krane, Nike’s general counsel, told reporters. “However, the investigation was not conclusive. It would be inappropriate for Nike to make an incriminating statement without providing supporting facts. Nike terminated its relationship with the athlete because he refused to cooperate with the investigation.”
Neymar’s side continuously denied and said Nike was too unreasonable.
Dayane Crespo – Neymar’s representative quickly denied the accusations. “Neymar Jr. will vigorously defend himself against these baseless accusations. Nike and Neymar have parted ways for commercial reasons,” Ms. Crespo said. Neymar’s father – Neymar da Silva Santos – also denied the accusations against his son.
Neymar himself expressed his anger when he confessed his feelings on his personal Instagram page. He wrote: “I really don’t understand how a company that is known to be serious can distort a business partnership that is clearly defined in a ‘black and white’ contract that no one can change. They are all very clear and beyond doubt.”
“Ever since I was 13, when I signed my first contract, I was warned: Don’t discuss your agreements with your partners with others. They must always be kept confidential. To put that in context and claim that the contract was terminated because I did not contribute in good faith to an investigation, I find that to be a ridiculous lie.”
“The Wall Street Journal story is perfect. In 2016, it seems like they knew about this event. I didn’t! In 2017, I still traveled to the US to do another advertising campaign with the same person, and they (Nike) didn’t make any announcement at all.”
“In 2017, 2018, and 2019, we went overseas to do advertising campaigns and countless shoots. And they didn’t say anything about the sexual assault allegations. Such a serious issue and they didn’t do anything. Who is really responsible?”
“I had no chance to defend myself. I had no chance to know who the person I allegedly offended was. I don’t even know her. I never had any relationship or access to this woman. I had no chance to talk to her to find out the real reason for her pain. That person, an employee, was not protected. And I, a sponsored athlete, was not protected.”
Neymar signed a contract with Nike when he was just 13 years old, before becoming a professional player in Brazil. During his time with Nike, Neymar was chosen by Nike to be the brand face alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe…
He even gets to wear his own, super-unique, custom-designed boots, rather than the commercial colorways that are available on the market. The 15-year partnership between Nike and Neymar comes with a £78.6 million ($112 million) deal.
Involved in two cases in the same year
In 2019, when Nike launched an investigation into Neymar, the Brazilian player was also accused by fellow model Najila Trindade of sexually assaulting her in a hotel in Paris (France). However, the case was later dropped because the investigation did not find enough evidence to charge the former Barca striker.a
