10:00 AM
04/19/24
04/19/24
November 15, 2014
Clif Bar Drops Sponsorship of 5 Climbers Over Risks They Take: Clif Bar, the nutrition bar maker that has long supported the sport of climbing, has dropped sponsorship of five well-known climbers. "We concluded that these forms of the sport are pushing boundaries and taking the element of risk to a place where we as a company are no longer willing to go," the company wrote in an open letter to the climbing community. "We understand that some climbers feel these forms of climbing are pushing the sport to new frontiers. But we no longer feel good about benefiting from the amount of risk certain athletes are taking in areas of the sport where there is no margin for error; where there is no safety net."
Well I started drawing up a response but the statements from Clif Bar and Honnold are perfect as is.
"We have and always will support athletes in many adventure-based sports, including climbing," the company said. "And inherent in the idea of adventure is risk. We appreciate that assessing risk is a very personal decision. This isn't about drawing a line for the sport or limiting athletes from pursuing their passions. We're drawing a line for ourselves. We understand that this is a gray area, but we felt a need to start somewhere and start now."
And from Honnold:
"It's a general reflection on risk," Honnold said. "The risk decision that Clif is making is the same kind of decision that we all make as athletes. I think it's completely fair for them to draw a line. It's a very personal decision. If Clif thought about it and said that that's the line that they want to take, I can't begrudge that. That's the same kind of line I draw with risk."