USATF kicks top Olympic hopeful off the team for not succumbing to Nike

Your weekly reminder that Nike, and pretty much any sports’ governing body, are the devil.

By Andrew Pridgen

American middle-distance runner and current national 800-meter champion Nick Symmonds was dumped from the U.S.A. Track & Field roster over the weekend as the team heads to the IAAF World Championships. The reason: He refused to violate his contract with Brooks Running by kowtowing to the USATF’s deal with Nike.

Last January, Symmonds signed a contract to run for Brooks after ending a seven-year relationship with Nike. Symmonds believes that by signing the USATF’s mandatory statement of conditions, he would violate his contract with Brooks.

He did not sign and was instantly replaced.

Last year, the USATF inked a deal with the Beaverton-based shoe giant through 2040 without notice or respect to individual athletes’ current endorsement deals. In exchange for rocking the swoosh on or near every orifice and extremity possible, Nike…