Please Answer the question in short paragraph form with good grammar and valid p
ID: 423768 • Letter: P
Question
Please Answer the question in short paragraph form with good grammar and valid point. If you answer all of the questions and provide good answer I will leave positive feedback. Thank you :)
One of the most stunning events of the 2016 Australian Open Tennis Tournament occurred off the court. Maria Sharapova one of the top women's players for more than a decade and the world's highest-paid female athlete, failed a drug test. Sharapova tested positive for meldonium, an old substance but one banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency just two months earlier. After receiving the news, Sharapova quickly held a press conference, admitted to taking the drug for medical reasons (low magnesium levels), and apologized.96 Presumably, the reason for doing this was to manage the impression of her and preserve her influence with fans, sponsors, and the regulators of women's tennis. Page 501 That said, scandals, particularly revelations of performance-enhancing drug use, are rampant in sports. But what is striking about the Sharapova case is how quickly several high-profile sponsors-Nike, Tag Hauer, and Porsche-announced they had suspended contracts and relationships with the tennis star. This is no small matter, since the bulk of her earnings have come from sponsorships estimated to exceed $200 million over her career 97 We again can assume that the sponsors made their decisions to manage impressions with their customers. But many see the sponsors' actions as inconsistent or a double standard Consider the way some of the same sponsors reacted to other highly publicized scandals in the not so distant past. In many instances, the sponsors stood by the athletes, at least for a period of time. Nike continued to sponsor Lance Armstrong for many years despite repeated allegations of doping during his Tour de France victories. It also stayed the course with Tiger Woods after revelations of his many extramarital affairs, and with Kobe Bryant through allegations of rape. And in 2011 Nike even signed a deal with quarterback Michael Vick after he had served time in prison for funding a dog-fighting ring and helping to kill dogs that underperformed. 98 Many sponsors have continued to support FIFA, soccer's governing body, and the International Olympic Committee through scandals of their own.99 Supporters of the apparent double standard for Sharapova say the intensity of social media today means companies need to take decisive and immediate action if trouble is brewing. A rumor in the morning can go viral and devastate a company's brand by the afternoon. Others say a quick response provides certain sponsors an out if they feel they are overpaying or wish to renegotiate with an athlete at a lower rate. Some companies actually rate and rank the public's trust of celebrities including athletes. Sharapova's ranking is almost certain to drop, but before the positive test she was ranked in the top third on such lists, in line with former New York Yankee star Derek Jeter, comedian Seth Myers, and singer Demi Lovato 100 Sharapova, 28, certainly has talent and time to recover from a suspension from tennis. And perhaps her sponsors will see their way clear and reinstate their relationships and support, as they have done for other athletes in similar and sometimes worse situations. Time will tell. But the larger issue is what sponsors will do when their celebrity endorsers step outside the lines either on or off the court, field, course, or stage Assume you were the decision maker at Nike at the time of Maria Sharapova's positive test and announcement. What Would You Do? 1. Break ties just like Nike did. Regardless of what happened in the past with other athletes, the company can't afford to be associated with those that break the rules of their sport or the law. Justify this position, and be sure to do so in light of Nike's continuing to sponsor the other athletes noted. 2. Change but don't sever your relationship with Sharapova. Describe how you will modify the relationship, and explain this in light of other sponsors' decisions to suspend their relationships. In other words, you are choosing a different course of action from other sponsors and you need to explain why 3. Take a completely different course of action. Explain.Explanation / Answer
Nike should -
3. Take a completely different course of action.
Nike should cancel its sponsorship ties with Sharapova as what she has done is against the sports' legal and ethical rules. It should also cancel its ties with all other athletes in a phase-wise manner if they were involved in similar cases. Announce that they would continue sponsoring athletes accused of malpractice only when they come out clean of the regulatory investigations.