AP Business Writer
NEW YORK — To some of Allen Iverson’s young fans, it doesn’t matter that the 76ers guard got into trouble with the law — they’ll still support him and wear clothing he’s endorsed as long as he excels on the basketball court.
“It doesn’t even bother us,” Anthony Veloso, 17, of Prospect Park, said as he shopped with his friend, Chris Randion, 18, who was wearing a $75 pair of Iverson Reebok sneakers.
“What he does outside, that’s his business,” Veloso said.
Yet it’s more than a personal matter when well-known athletes are charged with offenses. Companies whose products are endorsed by sports stars can find themselves in a sensitive position, having to decide whether a brand’s image will be hurt by the negative attention.
Iverson was charged with 14 felony and misdemeanor counts after allegedly barging into his cousin’s apartment and threatening two men with a gun; on Monday, a judge threw out all the charges except a misdemeanor.
Race car driver Al Unser Jr. and Baltimore pitcher Scott Erickson also have been in the news, both for allegedly assaulting their girlfriends. Charges were dismissed against Unser, who is undergoing treatment for alcohol abuse, while Erickson’s case is still pending.
Despite the allegations, fans are not passing judgment.
In fact, to athletes and fans, it’s been cool to be controversial in sports since as far back as the early 1900s, according to University of Oregon sports marketing professor Richard Burton.
“There has been a long history of athletes who would be considered to have had an antihero image,” Burton said, referring to baseball legend Ty Cobb as “probably the most notorious baseball hero. Iverson right now is the lightning rod.”
John Zolidis, analyst for Buckingham Research Group, said, “There’s a good reason to believe that having his name in the press is a positive.”
Even when athletes get into trouble, corporations will often publicly remain calm as long as teen-age fans continue to scour the clothing racks in support of their stars’ merchandise, Burton said.
“You go through periods when a lot of advertising is dedicated to what may be considered perfect heroes,” he said. “They win the championship, they say the right things, they endorse brilliantly, but only so many companies can (sign) on with those athletes.”
Instead, Burton said companies use the antihero, or the “bad boy,” in order to target the teen market that usually responds to off-the-beaten path advertisement. And it works. Veloso and Randion were both impressed by the fact that Iverson won’t compromise his style, marked by cornrows, tattoos, sweatbands and loose clothing.
This image keeps Reebok Inc. selling the basketball star’s line of clothing and shoes ranging from $40 shorts to $100 and up sneakers. Reebok’s deal with Iverson has contributed to a 37 percent jump in sales for the company’s U.S. basketball line.
The company announced shortly after Iverson was charged it would stand by him during his legal battle.
“It is Allen’s celebrity status, not the facts, that continues to fuel these proceedings,” said Reebok spokesperson Denise Kaigler in a statement after the initial charges. “We firmly believe that Allen will be vindicated and Reebok, along with his millions of fans, will still be standing by him when he is.”
