Byline: RICH THOMASELLI
AS MORE AND more horrendous details emerge from the child sexual-abuse case brought against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, sponsors are quickly backing away from what was until last week one of the premiere brands in college football.
Online automobile shopping company Cars.com withdrew its presenting sponsorship of Saturday's Penn State-Nebraska football game on ESPN due to the allegations, while paint manufacturer Sherwin-Williams has taken its logo off the banner that serves as a backdrop to all Penn State football press conferences.
Sports marketing expert Bob Dorfman, executive creative director for San Francisco's Baker Street Advertising, said the situation will only get worse before it gets better.
'We still haven't heard the full story, and it's not going to go away for quite a while. Every college football Saturday will bring it to the forefront,' he said. 'New allegations may emerge, new victims may come forward. Expect more sponsors to cut the cord. They're morally obligated to separate themselves from the program. As I've said before, there are two scandals that are too reprehensible to overcome, marketing-wise: murder and child molestation.'
The scandal has rocked not only the college-football world but the entire country with its graphic grand-jury testimony. Former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was arrested and charged Nov. 5 with 40 counts of sexual abuse of eight young boys over a 15-year period.
The allegations have already cost the legendary Mr. Paterno and university President Graham Spanier their jobs.
College football is a $2.6 billion business, and Penn State a huge player in it. The school has been under heavy national criticism for having failed a moral obligation to at least report the incident to state and/or federal authorities.
The apparent ethical ambivalence to the shocking allegations, and the allegations themselves, led to Cars.com backing out of its sponsorship of Saturday's nationally televised Penn State-Nebraska game on ESPN. In a statement to Ad Age, Cars.com said: 'It's important to us that we're building our brand in a way that celebrates the sport, its fans and the dedication of its student athletes.'
The Sherwin-Williams logo was noticeably absent from last Thursday's press conference for new interim Penn State football coach Tom Bradley. Calls to Sherwin-Williams' Cleveland offices were not returned.
On Penn State's official athletic website, gopsusports.com, a page that listed more than two dozen national and local corporate partners--including such blue-chip brands as Pepsi and Nike--is now blank. Penn State has long been a Pepsi campus, beginning with the signing of a $14 million, 10-year contract in 1992. 'We are very concerned about the current allegations surrounding Penn State University but will continue to honor our longstanding contract relationship,' said a PepsiCo spokesman.
Meanwhile, Seattle Weekly reported that Nike has no current plans to rename one of the buildings on its Beaverton, Ore., campus--the Joe Paterno Child Development Center.
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