Nike has terminated the contract of one of its endorsers for the second time this week.
Nike spokesman KeJuan Wilkins confirmed to ESPN.com that the endorsement contract of double amputee South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius had been terminated. The action comes just days after the world's largest athletic shoe and apparel maker terminated the contract of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, who was cut from the Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the league after the video leaked of him assaulting his then-fiancée, now wife, inside an Atlantic City casino elevator.
In February of last year, Nike suspended Pistorius' contract, meaning the company would stop using him and paying him, after he was charged with murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. On Friday, Pistorius was found to have killed his girlfriend out of negligence, a count the South African courts call culpable homicide. Pistorius will be sentenced on Oct. 13.
Nike dropping two athletes in one week is unheard of, considering it rarely terminates the contracts of its athletes. Lance Armstrong and Michael Vick are among the few who have had their contracts terminated, though Vick was eventually re-signed.
Nike, which will spend about $1 billion on athlete marketing alone in 2014, is also keeping its eye on the legal proceedings of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, who turned himself in to authorities on Saturday morning after being indicted by a grand jury on charges of reckless or negligent injury to his 4-year-old son.
"We are aware of the concerning allegations surrounding Adrian Peterson," Wilkins said Saturday. "We will continue to closely monitor the situation."