Report: Some NFL sponsors don't want ads used with Vikings, Ravens
Some NFL sponsors have requested their ads not appear during games featuring the Baltimore Ravens or Minnesota Vikings, according to a report by The Hollywood Reporter.
Additionally, according to THR, CBS had one sponsor ask to be removed from the recent Ravens-Steelers Thursday night broadcast and another request its ads shift, "likely away from a discussion of the violence issue during CBS Sports' pregame report."
• MMQB: William Gay on losing his mom to domestic violence
The Ravens recently cut running back Ray Rice following the emergence of a video showing him punching his then-fiancée in a casino elevator. Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was indicted in a child injury case involving hitting his four-year-old son with a tree branch. He's been since placed on the Commissioner's Exempt list while he awaits trial.
Rice's case in particular has led to many questions and criticism over the way the NFL and the Ravens handled it.
The NFL has yet to lose a sponsor entirely, though Anheuser-Busch recently released a statement saying it is disappointed and concerned with the NFL and the Radisson hotel chain suspended its sponsorship of the Vikings.
• MMQB: The game deserves better than Goodell
Procter & Gamble also recently pulled its planned NFL campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness that was set for October.
Rice and Peterson have lost endorsements, with Nike terminating its contract with Rice and suspending it with Peterson. Castrol motor oil also dropped Peterson and Wheaties removed all Peterson content from its website.
- Molly Geary
