Why has Adidas canceled its deal with Fernando Tatis Jr?
The San Diego Padres star has been handed an 80-game MLB ban for using performance enhancing drugs, leading Adidas to cut ties.
San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. was handed an 80-game MLB suspension for performance enhancing drugs and the 23-year-old Dominican star has now lost a lucrative sponsorship deal after Adidas announced it was ending its partnership with him.
“We believe that sport should be fair,” an Adidas spokesperson said in a statement to ESPN Friday night. “We have a clear policy on doping and can confirm that our partnership with Fernando Tatis Jr. will not continue.”
Tatis was suspended on 12 August after testing positive for the banned substance Clostebol. Tatis, who initially said he inadvertently took the substance in ringworm medication, has expressed remorse for his situation.
Tatis: “I have let so many people down”
“I’m truly sorry. I’m really sorry,” the shortstop said Tuesday. “I have let so many people down. I have lost so much love from people. I have failed.
“I failed the front office, the San Diego Padres, [owner] Peter Seidler, [general manager] A.J. Preller. I have failed the fans of this city, I have failed my country, I have failed my family, parents. I’m really sorry for my mistakes. I have seen how my dreams have turned into my worst nightmares... There is no one else to blame but myself.”
The suspension means Tatis will miss the entirety of the 2022 season. He had yet to play this year due to a left wrist injury allegedly suffered in a motorcycle accident in December.
While he’s out, Tatis has agreed to undergo surgery on his left shoulder. Part of the reason that he and the team were at odds was due to him declining to go under the knife following last season.