Introduction Within sport, endorsements have quickly become an effective form of advertising for organisations, with Stafford et al (2003) defining this type of commercial exposure as “ a famous [athlete or coach] who uses public recognition to recommend or co-feature a product in an advertisement.” Wang et al (2012) define the term celebrity “as a person who is well known and commands respect from consumers”; it is hoped that it will therefore (from the companies' point of view) lead to an instant connection between the consumer and the product through the favored endorser, with Lear et al (2009) supporting the idea that a celebrity endorsement has greater " likely to positively influence consumers' purchasing decisions". the way a brand/company advertises its products or services to a consumer through high-profile sponsorships could influence sales, depending on what the current market demands, and also the athlete endorsing the product or service. A product with the endorsement of a famous athlete has incredible drawing power in terms of increasing brand awareness, with Poturak (2013) stating that it is “unanimously accepted that a celebrity endorsement can impart extraordinary characteristics to a product or service that would otherwise have been missing". With this in mind, external factors such as an athlete's personal life or "off the field" activities could have just as significant an impact on deteriorating a brand's image as improving it, with customers' personal opinion of the athletes themselves which are the determining factor. deciding factor whether or not to purchase the approved product. Biswas, Biswas and Das (2006) find that "due to consumer trust in celebrity endorsers, consumers tend to accidentally transfer their perception of celebrity endorsers to the brand", this therefore means that much of Nike's success could be due to his affiliation with sports stars with a "wild side" like Tiger Woods? With statements made by Davis (2013) such as “today's teenagers get an extra problem: social pressures arrive earlier than previous generations” suggesting defiant behavior among today's youth, work on behalf of organizations such as Nike, Adidas and other major sports brands, with a more outspoken and rebellious generation looking for like-minded "role models" to follow and idolize? In some cases, sponsors see disobedient and undisciplined athletes as such a great risk that potential and existing customers, as well as organizations their public image could be lost or tarnished as a result of their actions, as seen with the resolution of the sponsorship contract of the 100 meters sprinter Ben Johnson with Diadora of the estimated value $2.