Here's the deal: on Tuesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Stanford Financial with defrauding its customers out of $8 billion.
Today, CNBC.com's Darren Rovell writes that Vijay Singh, who just signed a sponsorship deal with Stanford Financial last month, will continue to endorse the company despite, you know, the possibility that they bilked their clients out of a few bucks.
"This has to be a business as usual approach on his end, especially with so much still unknown at this point," said Dave Haggith, a spokesman for IMG, the management company that represents Singh. ...There are better PR strategies if you're Singh, but he's not exactly the most popular guy on tour anyway. As long as people are going to assume he's a jerk (and such instances, while ultimately harmless, certainly don't help), he might as well get paid in the process.
IMG has not had any further comment on Stanford's deal with Singh, including whether the golfer who is only second to Tiger Woods on the all-time money list ($60,768,812), had invested any money with the company or exactly how much he was paid so far. Singh is currently in Pacific Palisades, Calif., where he will play in the Northern Trust Open, which begins tomorrow.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-19-2009 @ 6:32PM
bigflyer said...
VeeJay is not the brightest bulb in the chandeleer, but he is the most tightfisted by all accounts in the golf media.
When he visits his major equipment endorser, Cleveland Golf, many employees take vacation days rather than try to deal with him.
He regularly changes caddys because he is they type of player that blames his looper for his missed putts. He works hard, practices hard, and nobody can dispute his work ethic, but he was blackballed early in his career on the Asian Tour he was accused of cheating. Golfers have long memories for such things.
From dirt poor beginnings in Fiji he has reached the near peak of the golf world, but many of his peers and fans could not care less about his success. Most likely he is fearful that if he does not wear the Stanford Financial colors, he will be sued and have to return endorsement money.
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3-01-2009 @ 10:06AM
Big Red said...
Vee Jay is a tremendous talent...period. The tour is going to Memphis for the St. Jude Classic notwithstanding the Stanford investigation ,which will ultimately run it's course. Obviously, Vee Jay is a big part of the PGA and its need to move forward. Face it, every time Vee Jay wins a tournament he raises the bar for the rest of the tour. He's twenty years older than some of these guys and still he kicks ass.
But where were the wise guys when Stanford Financial was marketing its products? Didn't the financial world find some of its claims for CD returns a little over the top? Or were they all just too stupid to see the light?
Love and Kisses
Big Red
2-24-2009 @ 4:54PM
smaxson5 said...
Vijay is not a very likable man. He is condescending to golf shop staffers at the tournament course he plays at. He does work very hard, no doubt, but this has to be the stupidest decision ever. What else....did he have Bernie Madoff as a sponsor too!!!! Come on get with it Stanford is a crook and I doubt the money will be there for you. Where your own damn hat and shirt. You can afford it.
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