FerringUSA confirms Sprint Force America sponsorship

Sean Callahan, editor of Masters Athlete magazine, contributed to my Masters Athlete blog entry today, and it expands on my earlier scoop that FerringUSA, the pharmaceutical company behind Euflexxa (the knee arthritis treatment), is sponsoring athletes from Sprint Force America. But the Masters Athlete entry also indicates that the deal is for one year (with an option for two). And FerringUSA spokesman Alex Drigan nipicked my suggestion that Bruce Jenner was being dropped as the “face of Euflexxa,” saying, “We did decide as a company to look at other opportunities to find new ‘faces.’ Jenner was a great spokesperson for Euflexxa as he totally embodied the spirit of athleticism (at any age). Hence we have decided to look at other sponsorships like Sprint Force America, Geezer Jock of the Year Award and are now looking at another Masters event in another sport.”

Here is what I said about Bruce Jenner on my original post:

It appears that FerringUSA is looking for new folks to be the face of Euflexxa, perhaps because its current spokesman, 1976 Olympic decathlon champion Bruce Jenner, has gotten involved in a reality TV show with his stepdaughters (called “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”).

And here’s what Sean added, with my blessing:

Alex Drigan, who works in Ferring’s marketing department, said that characterization of Jenner and Ferring parting ways was “inaccurate.” Drigan said, “We did decide as a company to look at other opportunities to find new ‘faces.’ Jenner was a great spokesperson for Euflexxa as he totally embodied the spirit of athleticism (at any age). Hence we have decided to look at other sponsorships like Sprint Force America, Geezer Jock of the Year Award and are now looking at another Masters event in another sport.”