(Reuters) - In the day following Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova's admission that she failed a drug test, sponsors Nike, Porsche and Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer dropped her like a hot potato.
Before social media demanded instant responses, sponsors often waited weeks or months before severing ties with an athlete - giving them the benefit of the doubt.
With so much invested in a global sponsorship industry IEG estimates at $60 billion, sponsors now scramble to avoid the taint of scandal so athletes caught doping at the Olympics this summer should also expect a quick end to their lucrative contracts.