Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall is suing the parent company of Champion for breach of contract for the brand’s decision to drop his endorsement deal after his tweets about the death of Osama bin Laden and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
According to the Associated Press, Mendenhall’s lawyers filed suit Monday in U.S. District Court in North Carolina, seeking roughly $1 million in damages from Hanesbrands, Inc.
The complaint says Champion’s decision to end its endorsement deal with Mendenhall in May, days after he questioned the public celebration of bin Laden’s death, violates a contract extension the two parties signed in 2010, worth over $1 million. Mendenhall first signed the endorsement deal in 2008.
Shortly after bin Laden was killed by a team of Navy SEALs, Mendenhall tweeted, in response to scenes of euphoria around the U.S., “What kind of person celebrates death? It’s amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. Weve only heard one side…” He also tweeted on the Sept. 11 attacks: “Well never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style.”
The comments led to a clarification by Mendenhall and a separate statement by Steelers team president Art Rooney II distancing the organization from Mendenhall’s remarks.
Hanesbrands has not responded to the lawsuit.
