This post has been updated.
State Farm insurance is pulling its sponsorship of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers after alleged audio of owner Donald Sterling making racist remarks surfaced over the weekend.
State Farm is pulling its sponsorship of the Clippers. Wow. Others expected to do the same.
— Nick Fasulo (@nickfasuloSBN) April 28, 2014
@mattyglesias It came straight from the State Farm CEO on @ESPN_Colin.
— Nick Fasulo (@nickfasuloSBN) April 28, 2014
The severance is particularly notable because the Clippers star point guard Chris Paul is a leading spokesperson for State Farm.
UPDATE: 2:10 p.m. ET
State Farm issued the following statement to CNBC:
State Farm strongly supports and respects diversity and inclusion in its workforce and customers. The remarks attributed to the Clippers’ owner are offensive. While those involved sort out the facts, we will be taking a pause in our relationship with the organization. We are monitoring the situation and we’ll continually asses our options. We have a great relationship with Chris Paul and will continue supporting the Born to Assist advertising campaign involving Chris and now other NBA players.
