Nike sues 800-meter runner Boris Berian, rocks track and field world

Boris Berian, the 800-meter indoor world champion who was working at McDonald’s less than two years ago, attended Saturday’s HOKA One One Middle Distance Classic in Eagle Rock, Cali. to cheer on his teammates. Much to his surprise, the 23-year-old was served with a lawsuit by Nike, his former sponsor.

Last June, Berian ran 1:43.34 in the 800 meters at the Adidas Grand Prix in New York City—the fifth-fastest 800 meters ever by an American—and promptly inked a professional sponsorship contract with Nike in June. He improved upon that mark at the Monaco Diamond League meet in July, running 1:43.34 and making him the fifth-fastest American 800-meter runner, before his contract expired on Dec. 31, 2015.

Upon the expiration of his contract, Nike held the exclusive right to try to extend the agreement, and Berian could not negotiate with any other shoe companies in the last 60 days of 2015. If there was no new agreement, Berian could explore his options elsewhere, but Nike could match any offer within the first 180 days of 2016.

On Jan. 20, Berian received an offer from New Balance and while Nike matched it, Berian and his agent, Merhawi Keflezighi, didn’t think it matched the level of the New Balance contract.une paire de nike

On Feb. 15, Keflezighi informed Nike that his client  “expressed an interest not to resume a relationship with Nike” and passed along a revised offer from New Balance. Nike claims that Berian and Keflezighi did not have the right to negotiate with New Balance after Nike matched the original offer.

“Nike has filed a lawsuit for declaratory relief and for injunctive relief regarding an expired contract,” Keflezighi said in a statement. “The dispute regards interpretation of contract language.”

According to the lawsuit, Nike claims that Berian wearing competitor apparel “will cause irreparable harm” to the brand.

Berian is currently not sponsored, but he’s been spotted wearing New Balance apparel with his training group, the Big Bear Track Club. Most recently, he competed during the indoor season with New Balance footwear and won a gold medal for the United States in the 800 meters at the world indoor championships wearing USA Track and Field’s Nike uniforms. On Sunday, he has changed his Twitter avatar to a photo of a New Balance spike.

This is just the tip of an iceberg in the many that involve track and field’s sponsorship limitations on athletes. As of Monday morning, Berian is still listed on the entries for next weekend’s Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore.—a Diamond League meet sponsored by Nike.