Kia's Clippers Sponsorship -- Car Company Driving Off After Donald Sterling Rant
Kia We're Driving Off with Our Los Angeles Clippers Sponsorhip
Kia is joining the growing list of sponsors who are pulling the plug on their sponsorship of the Los Angeles Clippers ... TMZ Sports has learned.
A rep for the car company -- which has an advertising campaign built around Clippers star Blake Griffin -- released a statement to TMZ Sports, saying. "The comments allegedly made by Clippers owner, Donald Sterling, are offensive and reprehensible, and they are inconsistent with our views and values."
The statement continues, "We are suspending our advertising and sponsorship activations with the Clippers. Meanwhile, as fans of the game of basketball, our support of the players and the sport is unwavering.”
As TMZ Sports first reported, CarMax, Virgin America and State Farm have all pulled their advertising dollars from the team following Donald Sterling's racist remarks.
12:30 PM PT -- Add LoanMart to the list -- a rep tells TMZ Sports, "The statements allegedly made by Donald Sterling are completely inconsistent with the views and ethics of the LoanMart organization. As a result, LoanMart is suspending our advertising and sponsorship activities for the Los Angeles Clippers."
11:12 AM PT -- Now Amtrak's out too. A rep for the train company tells us the company's sponsorship expired at the end of the regular season, and it's now working to remove ALL advertising assets from the market in the wake of the Sterling audio.
The rep tells us, "Amtrak believes the language used is unacceptable and is inconsistent with our corporate belief to treat everyone with integrity and dignity."
The rep adds, "Moving forward, we will continue to monitor the situation as we look to make decisions about 2014-15 sports marketing sponsorships.”
