The company started by 2x Olympian Nick Symmonds and his coach, Sam Lapray, seek reforms that will enable a wider range of businesses to sponsor track and field athletes at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track and Field.
Eugene, OR. January 20, 2016
Run Gum, a performance chewing gum company, announced today that they have filed a lawsuit in their hometown of Eugene, Oregon. The suit names both USA Track & Field (USATF) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) as defendants in the antitrust lawsuit.
Run Gum has retained the services of antitrust specialists Hausfeld LLP for the suit. The suit alleges that USATF and the USOC, along with other unnamed co-conspirators, have jointly agreed to exclude various businesses from sponsoring athletes in return for advertising exposure on athletes’ competition apparel at the upcoming July 1-10, 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track and Field ("Trials") in Eugene, OR.
Currently, the only logos permitted on an athlete’s competition attire during the Trials are those belonging to apparel and equipment manufacturers that have been approved by the USOC. Though not an apparel or equipment manufacturer, Run Gum wants to sponsor athletes at the Trials in return for logo exposure on the athlete’s competition attire, subject to the same limitations on logo placement, quantity, and size that govern apparel and equipment manufacturers.
“We are simply looking to level the playing field,” says Run Gum co-founder Nick Symmonds. “It is completely illogical and unfair to allow a very small sector of the market to have total control over the advertising space on an athlete’s competition uniform.”
Run Gum is on a mission to assist and inspire athletes around the world. They do this with their compressed energy gum, their creative digital marketing, and through the money they invest in the sponsorship of athletes.
“At Run Gum, we believe that people matter and performance matters,” says Run Gum’s other co-founder, Sam Lapray. “We have helped to motivate and fuel thousands of athletes, and now we want to put cash in their pockets and help them achieve their Olympic dreams.”
For more information about Run Gum and the lawsuit, visit http://getrungum.com/rglawsuit
About Run Gum
Run Gum is a sports supplement brand selling performance chewing gum and is headquartered in Eugene, Oregon. They believe performance matters and are on a mission to help athletes maximize their performance in daily training and competition. Founded in October 2014, Run Gum is sold in over 200 stores nationwide as well as on their website, http://getrungum.com.
About Hausfeld LLP
Hausfeld is a leading global law firm with offices in Berlin, Brussels, London, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. The firm has a broad range of complex litigation expertise, particularly in antitrust/competition, financial services, sports and entertainment, environmental, mass torts, consumer protection, and human rights matters, often with an international dimension. Hausfeld aims to achieve the best possible results for clients through its practical and commercial approach, avoiding litigation where feasible, yet litigating robustly when necessary. Hausfeld’s extensive experience with alternative and innovative fee models offers clients a diverse menu of engagement options and maximum flexibility in terms of managing their cost exposure.
For more information about the firm, including recent trial victories and landmark settlements, please visit www.hausfeld.com.
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