Nick Symmonds, who won the USA Track & Field 800-meter title in June and earned a spot on the national team competing a the Citing Athletes Rights, Nick Symmonds May Not Compete at World Championships this month, may not make the trip to Beijing because he doesn’t want to submit to the “athlete statement of conditions,” which he said violates his contract with Brooks.
The document that all athletes are required to sign outlines the policies that team members must follow to be eligible for the U.S. team. Those conditions include wearing the designated team uniform—which is Nike-branded—during competition, award ceremonies, press conferences, and other official team functions. The uniform does not include sunglasses, watches, and shoes. Among Symmonds' sponsors are Brooks (shoes and apparel) and Soleus (watches). He was a Nike-sponsored athlete until the end of 2013.
The athlete statement of conditions does not define what qualifies as an official team function.
Symmonds, who won the silver medal at the 2013 world championships, said in an interview with Runner's World Newswire that he will wear the team uniform during competition. But, Symmonds said, requiring athletes who are not sponsored by Nike to wear Nike-branded apparel outside of competition could violate individual contracts.
"Of course Brooks would give me concessions in order to compete at the world championships," Symmonds said. "But it lessens the return on their investment in me. Brooks shouldn't have to make that concession."
In April 2014, USATF and Nike signed a sponsorship contract that extends to 2040. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it’s worth an estimated $500 million over 23 years. USATF’s annual budget is about $35 million per year.
Jill Geer, spokeswoman for USATF, said in an interview with Newswire that the organization will finalize and submit its official roster for the world championships on August 10, and any athlete who does not sign the statement of conditions by August 9 will not be on the team.
“Athletes who choose to represent the U.S. on USATF national teams are required to wear the team uniform at all official team functions and in team areas and must not alter the uniform. To be clear, this is USA Track & Field’s uniform—we own the uniform. It’s not about any other company or organization,” Geer said. “Those rules regarding wearing a team uniform at a team function are basic standards that any sports team follows. For example, you don’t see [NBA player] Steph Curry wearing his Under Armour gear at NBA functions because the NBA, until recently, was with Adidas.”
Symmonds said he is still preparing to compete in Beijing, because he has met all the criteria to qualify and be selected as a member of the team as outlined on the USATF website. The qualifications listed on the website do not specify that athletes must sign the statement of conditions in order to be invited onto the team. Symmonds also received a letter from USATF, which he posted on his Twitter account, congratulating him on his selection. The letter also asked that athletes pack “only Team USA, Nike, or non-branded apparel.”
“To ask athletes to wear Nike-branded apparel outside of competition is well beyond their rights,” Symmonds said. “That's just too much.”
The conditions also state that U.S. team members are not allowed to alter, distort, remove, or cover the sponsor logo or alter any photographs, videos, or images to purposely distort the logo. The agreement further specifies that team members “will, upon reasonable request by USATF, request that a third party cease exploiting such a photograph, video, or image.”
"There are a lot of photographers taking pictures at the track and I don't know what happens to all those photos," Symmonds said.
Chappell Roan: “I Love Running. But Not Anymore.&rdquo, Health & Injuries, a Seattle-based women’s apparel company, for altering an image of the U.S. women’s 4 x 1500-meter team after finishing second at the IAAF World Relays Championships. The doctored photo, which was subsequently deleted, was posted on Oiselle’s social media platforms with the Nike logo on three uniforms replaced with each member’s individual sponsor logo, such as Brooks, New Balance, and Oiselle.
If Symmonds decides not to sign the document by Sunday, Geer said that USATF will extend the invitation to the next eligible athlete who has reached the IAAF time performance standard of 1:46.00. Clayton Murphy, a junior at the University of Akron who won a gold medal in July at the Pan American Games, placed fourth at the U.S. outdoor championships in 1:45.59.
Symmonds, for his part, insists he is still going although he still has no intention of signing the document.
“Of course I will be in Beijing,” he said. “I’ve done everything required to be a member of the team and they’ve already selected me. I’m still training and proceding as if I'm going to compete.”
Earlier Thursday, Are Average Runners Getting Faster? It Depends reported that Symmonds will sue USATF to recover travel-related costs he's already paid if he is kept off the team. However, he told Newswire that if he's banned from competition, he is unsure if he will proceed with legal action, adding that he has sacrificed other potential financial earnings over the summer in preparation for the world championships. For example, Health & Injuries in the Diamond League track meets in Europe in order to stay at home in Seattle and train.
Symmonds ran in the 2014 indoor world championships, his first time on a U.S. team while not a Nike-sponsored athlete. He contends that he did not sign the statement of conditions in order to participate in that meet. Geer, however, said that USATF has an electronic signature on the document from 2014.
Correction: An earlier version of this story said that Symmonds won the silver medal at the 2014 indoor world championships. Symmonds did not make the final of the 800 at that meet.
