As soccer becomes more and more commercialized, sponsors are continuing to gain increasing amounts of power in clubs. From such extreme situations like Michael Jordan hiding the Olympic sponsor’s brand because it was different than his, they can dictate not only what one can and can’t wear, they also provide guidelines on how the players should act. When scandalous behavior occurs, such as Tiger Woods’s extramarital affairs, companies such as Gatorade can pull their sponsorship. This article from Bleacher Report indicates they are now doing even more. The clothing company Adidas, the article reveals, has a stipulation that a player may not be a follower of the Scientology religion. This was revealed in a contract of an unnamed Bayern Munich player, in Germany where Scientology is illegal to practice. While it probably won’t be effecting any players on their sponsorship, this article forces the question of how much power can these corporations have over deciding how athletes may live their lives, both on and off the pitch.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1954563-adidas-sponsorship-contracts-have-a-cancellation-clause-for-scientology
Good point. There is so much individual privacy that is lost with the commercialization of sport.