Nike Throws in the Towel in Lawsuit Against Rival New Balance over Sponsorship of Expectant Olympian

In a surprise move Nike decided to drop its lawsuit attempting to prevent American 800 meter World Champion runner Boris Berian from wearing rival shoe company New Balance. On June 23, 2016, Nike voluntarily dismissed its sponsorship dispute in an Oregon federal court where they recently sought to expedite the process in order to determine Berian’s sponsorship for the upcoming U.S. Olympic track and field trials on July 1, 2016.

Berian is a fascinating story in the world of track and field having worked as …

June 21, 2016 Doping

Russian Track & Field Team Banned from Rio Olympics in Unprecedented Decision

In an unprecedented decision, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) announced on Friday, June 17, 2016, that Russia and the Russian Athletics Federation has failed to show enough progress to warrant lifting the November 2015 provisional doping scandal suspension. Although the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will make the final call about Russian’s participation in the Rio Olympics, the decision bars the team from competition.

The track-and-field team was provisionally banned from competition following a 2015 report from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). WADA’s report …