The fallout from the Lance Armstrong doping scandal has hit Major League Soccer as Sporting Kansas City and their stadium’s sponsor, the Livestrong Foundation, are severing ties.
In a statement posted on the team website Tuesday, Sporting KC chief executive Robb Heineman accused Livestrong of
“utilizing aggressive tactics designed to force us into an unsatisfactory arrangement.” He said the foundation’s conduct was particularly surprising considering the organization is “in the midst of a significant transitional phase.”
“Our faith and trust in this partnership have been permanently damaged; therefore we are terminating our agreement with Livestrong, effectively immediately,” Heineman said. “As a result of this decision, our stadium will now be referred to as Sporting Park. While we are ending this relationship, our support of the fight against cancer will endure.”
Basically Livestrong claims that Sporting Kansas still owes then $750,000 of the $1 million promised to the foundation in 2012.
Greg Lee, the chief financial officer for the charity, did not address any details in his emailed statement, but said part of his role is
“to ensure that the terms of the foundation’s agreements are adhered to.”
“If a partner is struggling to meet the terms of an agreement, we do everything possible to reach a fair and reasonable compromise,” he said. “If no compromise can be reached, as good stewards of our brand, mission and donors’ dollars, we have no choice but to bring that agreement to an end. That is the case here.”
Heineman disputes that claim saying that the $250,000 that the team paid Livestrong for 2012 fulfilled its contractual obligation to the charity.
