Adidas has ended its relationship with San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. in the wake of him testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.
In a statement sent in response to an inquiry from ESPN on Friday, an Adidas spokesperson wrote: “We believe that sport should be fair. We have a clear policy on doping and can confirm that our partnership with Fernando Tatis Jr. will not continue.”
Tatis, 23, joined Adidas early in 2020, on the heels of his dynamic rookie season, then received his own signature shoe, the Ultra Boost DNA. Terms of Tatis’ contract with Adidas are not known, but his image appeared to have been scrubbed from the company’s website.
Tatis was suspended 80 games by Major League Baseball on Aug. 12 after the anabolic steroid Clostebol was found in his body. Tatis, who was nearing his return from a wrist injury that had kept him out all season, attributed the positive test to a skin medication he obtained in his native Dominican Republic but was remorseful in his comments to the media on Tuesday.
“I have let so many people down,” Tatis said in his initial comments. “I have lost so much love from people. I failed. I have failed all of them. I have failed to the front office of the San Diego Padres, Peter Seidler, AJ Preller. I have failed to every fan of this city. I have failed to my country. I have failed my family, parents. I’m really sorry for my mistakes. I have seen how my dreams have turned into my worst nightmares.”
Tatis, the first player in baseball history to amass 80 home runs and 50 stolen bases within his first 300 career games, signed a historic 14-year, $340 million extension with the Padres in February 2021. Prior to his suspension, Tatis was clearly on a path to becoming the proverbial face of baseball, securing another high-profile deal with Gatorade, becoming the cover athlete on the video game “MLB The Show 21,” and appearing in ads for major brands such as BMW, Dairy Queen, Jack In The Box and PlayStation.