Coke, Heineken and professional player pushback in this week's episode of the Freshly Signed podcast. 

Professional Sport Sponsorships are evolving. Cristiano Ronaldo shaved £4 billion off Coke’s share price this week when the health-conscious professional football player removed bottles of the sugar-laden fizzy drink from the interview desk moments before a press interview. A day later French pro, Paul Pogba, a devout Muslim, removed a Heineken beverage from the table in front of him during post-match interviews. Obtaining and managing sport sponsorships is a tricky business. The organisers of the French open fluffed the opportunity to manage crisis communications properly when tennis ace Naomi Osaka, who suffers from depression, declined to participate in a press conference. The infuriated organisers fined her and threatened to bar her from Ronald Garros and other grand slam events if she does that again. 

Unfortunately for the French Open organisers the world has sided with Osaka and it is the organisers themselves who have sullied sponsors names by association. 

One thing is for sure, professional players brand equity lies with their millions of fans and not with event organisers or sponsors. Take a listen to this week's show and please share it with someone you care about. 

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This episode is brought to you by SportsLawAfrica