Nike says it ended deal with Neymar amid assault allegations

(John Walton/PA)

Nike has confirmed it ended its sponsorship agreement with Neymar after the Brazilian football star refused to co-operate with an investigation into an accusation that he sexually assaulted a female employee from the the company years ago.

Nike did not give a reason last August when it parted ways with the Paris Saint-Germain forward, but on Thursday the US multinational said it decided to terminate the contract because Neymar refused to participate “in a good faith investigation of credible allegations of wrongdoing by an employee”.

Nike said it could not speak in detail about the case when the deal ended because the investigation was not conclusive.

“No single set of facts emerged that would enable us to speak substantively on the matter,” Nike said. “It would be inappropriate for Nike to make an accusatory statement without being able to provide supporting facts.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Nike employee told friends and colleagues in 2016 that Neymar tried to force her to perform oral sex in his hotel room in New York, where she was helping to co-ordinate events and logistics for the player and his entourage.

Nike said it was “deeply disturbed by sexual assault allegations” and confirmed the alleged incident took place in 2016, when Neymar played for Barcelona. Nike said it received an official notice of the incident two years later.

The company said it respected the employee’s initial desire to avoid an investigation and keep the matter private.

“In 2019, when the employee later expressed interest in pursuing the matter, we acted immediately,” it said. “Nike commissioned an independent investigation and retained separate independent legal counsel for the employee, of her choosing and at the company’s expense.”

A spokeswoman for the player told the Wall Street Journal he denied the allegation.

“Neymar Jr will vigorously defend himself against these baseless attacks in case any claim is presented, which did not happen so far,” she said.