May 30, 2003
What's Next?
Reebok, spurned by LeBron James, has signed up 3 1/2 year old basketball "prodigy" Mark Walker. According to the USA Today article, "Reebok is paying the family with a college trust fund for Mark, which might threaten his amateur standing to be a high school or college hoops star down the road."
I'm not sure who's more to blame -- the parents who sent the tape of their son to Reebok or Reebok itself for stooping to this -- but it's sick the way this child is being exploited when he has no idea of the possible ramifications down the road. For some fame and cash, his family sold out his possible high school and college career! How's the kid going to feel when he can't play on the junior high and high school teams with his friends? How is he supposed to develop his skills and become the NBA "gravy train" they hope he is when he is probably already locked out of competitive basketball?
So what's next in the world of sports endorsements? Could Stefi Graf and Andre Agassi line up a pre-natal shoe deal for their future arrival?
Posted by blipsman at May 30, 2003 11:48 AM