The allegations of rape made by Nevada woman Kathryn Mayorga against Cristiano Ronaldo are raising concerns among the footballing superstar’s sponsors. Last week Las Vegas police decided to re-open the criminal investigation into Mayorga’s accusations, which stem from a meeting on June 13, 2009.
Additionally, Kathryn Mayorga filed a lawsuit last week against Ronaldo, and all of the negative publicity surrounding the two cases has raised concern among the Portugese superstar’s commercial endorsement partners. Ronaldo, who was not called up for Portugal this international break, has denounced Mayorga’s claims as untrue on multiple occasions.
Also bringing additional unwanted attention to the two legal cases was this video of Ronaldo and Mayorga together on the night under investigation, which of course went viral worldwide.
One of Ronaldo’s major commercial partners, Nike, said it was “deeply concerned” by the allegations being made. The Oregon based sportswear behemoth has a $1 billion deal with the Juventus superstar. Speaking of Juve, their shares tumbled almost 10% on Friday when the club issued a statement of support for their franchise player.
The leadership figures in the Portugese football federation have also expressed their support for Ronaldo publicly.
Another Ronaldo partner, EA Sports, gave the following statement to CNN:
“We have seen the concerning report that details allegations against Cristiano Ronaldo. We are closely monitoring the situation, as we expect cover athletes and ambassadors to conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with EA’s values.”
The situation has not slowed CR7 down on the pitch though. He scored the second goal in Juvetnus’ win at Udinese on Saturday night.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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