Yes. He would be able to work as a sponsor for Brooks (and others) while in China. The way it is set up now, athletes are, essentially, all working for Nike while training for and competing in the WC. Making it worse, the athletes work and USATF gets paid.

And, I don't think he is really trying to change the contract between Nike and USATF. More like trying to clarify athletes rights (between USATF and the athletes).

My guess is that all or nearly all American athletes are sponsored, many by Nike. In the past Symmonds was sponsored by Nike. It was only recently that he switched to Brooks. Meaning that the agreement he signed in the past would have had no affect on him. I mean, of course he would pack Nike clothes and shoes... he was a Nike athlete.

Will he get more money from Brooks if he is allowed to wear their gear at the worlds?

 

That means you are bigger than the team. In any past Olympics I have no clue who sponsored the gear. Talk about it in the media as he is doing and perhaps many will remember it.

I'm thinking in broader terms than just the gear. Remember Salazar and Nike were involved in some incidents involving non-Nike athletes being DQed and Nike-sponsored, Salazar coached athletes being moved up to make the US Team. Symmonds is just highlighting another aspect of Nike's influence over USATF.

Anyone see the latest, that runners can wear sponsor's gear & that there are specific sponsor events that they attend. And now Symmonds is weighing is legal options. 

 

I'm not a big fan of athletes (or anyone else) who takes to every form of media to complain about rules they don't like. I also can't help but wonder if there is a point where his sponsors say "enough is enough, just STFU and run".  Is it better to suck it up and follow the rules and run in the world championships, or to stay home? I would think it's better to participate, because sponsorships strike me as "what have you done for me lately".

Symmonds displayed a letter USATF sent to prospective team members that was meant to supplement the separate Statement of Conditions. The letter read, in part, “Please pack ONLY Team USA, Nike or non-branded apparel.”

According to Geer, USATF's senior management didn't know about the letter until it was sent, and doesn’t plan to enforce it in Beijing.

“No one on the executive team was aware of the letter” before it went out to athletes, according to Geer, who told Newswire she was stunned when she first saw it. She would not identify its author but said it was written by a lower-level staff member.

My, how convenient.

In a phone call with Newswire, Symmonds acknowledged that USATF told him they would not enforce the restrictions implied in the letter.

They threw him a bone, and apparently he threw it back at them.

This is exactly the point. What good is it to sponsor an athlete if they cant wear your gear? This is what Symmonds is complaining about. How can he make money? USATF is not going to pay him. But how can he be a sponsor if USATF will not allow him to wear anything?

Oh, and the last thing a sponsor is going to do is to tell Symmonds to "shut up". Brooks and Symmonds did laps around USATFNike on this one.

Is it better to suck it up and follow the rules and run in the world championships, or to stay home? I would think it's better to participate, because sponsorships strike me as "what have you done for me lately".

Yes. Symmonds is picking on USATF. They have been ripe for this sort of thing for years (decades?). USATF could have avoided all this as easily as Symmonds could have. You see it as Symmonds whining, I see it as USATF incompetence. Glass half full / half empty. Each want the money. As long as the athletes act like independent contractors and USATF continues to be completely incompetent, I see little reason USATF should be taking so much.

Symmonds retirement.

When USA gymnastics announces its world championship teams, I'll go out on a limb and say if the gymnasts sponsored by Nike or Reebok are on the team, they won't be pitching a fit about wearing Under Armour, which sponsors the team as a whole.