It’s pretty obvious why the World Cup wants Shaun White to compete: adding him to the list of competitors will bring in more TV viewers, allowing for more TV advertising and corporate sponsorship money, so it’s good for business, but will he compete?
According to Norwegian press, Shaun White is asking for a celebrity appearance fee of about $86,000 (original link) to compete in the World Cup, a sum which Henning Andersen, Snowboard World Cup CEO describes as “out of the question”. Mr. Andersen, I’m glad you’re taking a stand and hope you stick to your guns on this.
Chewing gum, Target apparel, razor scooters, toilet brushes or whatever else he’s whoring out now is just superficially selling out. At the end of the day these things don’t matter (don’t mention the Oakley Shaun White Air & Style comp that he didn’t participate in). When people say they don’t like the ginger kid, it’s this “I’m bigger than the sport” attitude that has a lot to do with it. He might be bigger than the sport, but that doesn’t preclude him from occasionally acting with a little humility.
What do you think, is demanding a celebrity appearance fee to take part in a world championship level competition taking it just a little bit too far?
