| Six years after a devastating sexual-abuse scandal caused sponsors to flee and threatened the very existence of USA Gymnastics, two events this week may finally be taking the organization out of survival mode, Louise Radnofsky writes.
On Thursday, the gymnastics federation announced a deal with Nike that the sports governing body says is its largest ever. It ends a long period during which big brands shied away from USA Gymnastics.
“I can’t say enough in terms of what [the Nike] announcement means in terms of how far we’ve come as an organization,” said USA Gymnastics CEO Li Li Leung.
And on Saturday, Simone Biles—thought to be perhaps retired for the past two years—will be back competing in a USA Gymnastics event.
Another sports marketing deal: The NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, which just welcomed the wildly hyped rookie Victor Wembanyama to the team, signed a deal to change the name of its arena from AT&T Center to Frost Bank Center. [Front Office Sports]
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