Coe steps down as Nike ambassador

IAAF President, Sebastian Coe, has quit his role as an ambassador for Nike.
The head of world athletics’ governing body announced at a press conference in Monaco, France that he had cut his ties with the American sportswear giant.
“It is clear that perception and reality have become horribly mangled. I have stepped down from the Nike position I have held for 38 years,” Coe said.
Coe has come under increasing pressure to end his association with Nike – his ambassadorial role was believed to be worth around £100,000 a year – due to possible conflicts of interest arising.
His decision comes two days after allegations surfaced that Coe lobbied for Eugene to host the 2021 World Championships.
The American city has close links with Nike and was awarded the championships without a bidding process, despite strong interest from Swedish city, Gothenburg.
Coe, who said his decision was not a reaction to those claims, added: “The current noise level around this role is not good for the IAAF and for Nike. It is a distraction to the 18-hour days that I and my teams are working to steady the ship.”
Coe also announced he would be stepping down as British Olympic Association chairman after the Rio Olympics and that his sports marketing company, CSM, would not tender any IAAF work.
The 59-year-old emphasised, though, that the IAAF ethics commission had told him he could retain his roles with Nike and CSM as long as he was not involved in any decision relating to them.
Coe pointed out he retained his Nike role through his time as London 2012 chairman and BOA chief, with Nike’s rivals adidas the organisations’ partners.
“The decision I chose to take in the last few weeks was one that I think reflected my absolute intention to focus as long and as hard as I can on steadying the ship that has been rocking rather badly recently,” Coe added.
Coe has found himself at the centre of one of sport’s biggest scandals since taking over as head of the IAAF, an unpaid position, from Lamine Diack in August.
Revelations by the World Anti-Doping Agency about a state-sponsored doping system in Russia have seemed the country banned from international competition by the IAAF, a sanction the Russian athletics federation (ARAF) has now accepted.
There have been allegations of corruption and cover-ups at the IAAF too, with Diack being investigated over an alleged payment of more than ¬1 million (£700,000/$1.6m) to cover up doping offences by Russian athletes.