The hits keep coming for the National Football League, and its top sponsors have started to publicly criticize the league for its mishandling of multiple off-the-field scandals.
“We are disappointed and increasingly concerned by the recent incidents that have overshadowed this NFL season. We are not yet satisfied with the league’s handling of behaviors that so clearly go against our company culture and moral code,” Anheuser-Busch said in a statement. “We have shared our concerns and expectations with the league.”
The NFL’s first two weeks of play have been plagued by player incidents that occurred during the break. Earlier this month, TMZ Sports obtained the full surveillance video of former Baltimore Ravens’ star Ray Rice beating his then-fiancée unconscious in a hotel elevator back on Feb. 15.
A Montgomery County, Texas court indicted Minnesota Vikings' running back Adrian Peterson for reckless or negligent injury to a child on Sept. 12. Peterson told police he had used a “switch” for “whooping” his 4-year-old son, according to a report obtained by Sports Radio 610 in Houston.
The Radisson hotel chain suspended its sponsorship of the Vikings in the wake of Peterson’s arrest on Sept. 15.
“Radisson takes this matter very seriously particularly in light of our long-standing commitment to the protection of children,” the company said in a statement. “We are closely following the situation and effective immediately, Radisson is suspending its limited sponsorship of the Minnesota Vikings while we evaluate the facts and circumstances.”
The team barred the running back from all team activities until his “legal proceedings are resolved,” the Vikings announced on Sept. 17. Nike and Castrol Oil also dropped their endorsements with Peterson.
“Nike in no way condones child abuse or domestic violence of any kind and has shared our concerns with the NFL. We have suspended our contract with Adrian Peterson,” the athletic wear company said.
Other NFL sponsors that have addressed the league’s poor action concerning both cases include Pepsi Co., McDonald’s, Visa and Campbell’s Soup. Anheuser-Busch spends $200 million per year to advertise with NFL and Pepsi spends about $100 million, according to the New York Daily News.
“We understand,” said Brian McCarthy, the spokesman for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, after Busch’s statement. “We are taking action and there will be much more to come.”
