Shawn Kemp: The Anti-Jordan?

If managers compromise their personal brands and, in doing so, damage the company or its reputation, they must be prepared to pay the price because great brands will aggressively protect themselves.

For athletes, this means that they must stay on their toes when endorsing a particular shoe or company; any failure to do so could bring with it immediate and grave consequences, as well as harm to the athlete's personal brand.

Corporations (employers) pay handsomely to have high-profile athletes (employees) endorse their products and services. So when athletes compromise the product or service they promote by either singing the praises of a competing brand or demeaning the one they endorse, companies are quick to step in because confusion in the marketplace cannot be tolerated. It hurts the brand and costs the company precious time and resources. This is precisely why most corporations require athletes to avoid such conflicts of interest by agreeing to exclusively endorse a specific product or service.

In the event the athlete or his or her representatives do not employ appropriate discretion in their endorsement relationships, corporations have demonstrated the value they place on these relationships by taking legal action.

In September 2000, the Cleveland Cavaliers' Shawn Kemp filed suit against Reebok, claiming the company had no grounds to terminate his five-year, $11.2 million contract two years early.

From the time he was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics in 1992, Kemp had endorsed the company and had two signature shoes, Reignman I and Reignman II, named after him.

However, Reebok terminated his deal when they saw his comments in the April 16, 2000 edition of the Akron Beacon Journal. When asked what his favorite pair of shoes was, Kemp, who in the article was called the "Imelda Marcos of the NBA" because he had 400 pairs, replied that his all-time favorite pair was probably the Air Force II by Nike, also worn by Darrell Griffith and Moses Malone.

Kemp continued to sing the praises of the competing shoe by saying that when he got a pair of Air Force IIs, he was the coolest kid in school. He'd wear them around just to let everybody know he was a ballplayer. Kemp then proceeded to rip the quality of today's shoes compared to those of yesteryear.

Two months later, Reebok claimed that his comments were in violation of his contract. Kemp claimed that he was just telling the truth and that the company used these comments to void his contract because he wasn't playing as well as when Reebok signed the deal.

Soon after the jury began deliberating, Kemp withdrew his suit and quickly settled with Reebok. Reebok spokesperson, Denise Kaigler, made the company's perspective well known when telling the Associated Press that the message being sent was clear: Reebok would never tolerate the disparaging comments that Kemp made.

Analyzing the world of sports endorsements helps illustrate how athletes have created their personal brands. Although certain elite corporate leaders have speechwriters and spin doctors to assist in the personal branding process, few business people have their own personal handlers. Accordingly, they must redouble their efforts to position themselves in the eyes of others.