Four Years After Signing Multi-Million Adidas Deal, David Beckham Was Forced to Hang Up His Boots After Massive Protests Over ‘Cruel Practices’

David Beckham is a global icon. He was considered one of the greatest soccer players of all time. Even after hanging up his boots, the player continues to enjoy massive fame. With his ever-growing popularity, the Englishman has attracted many global brands to sign him. Just like her wife, Victoria, the former England player, has also partnered with many renowned labels.

One such label was Adidas. The famous shoe company has partnered with many celebrities and famous athletes, with Beckham being one of them. The famous brand diligently gave him a lucrative contract; however, it was something for which the player was forced to hang up his boots, reported the Independent.

David Beckham took a massive step

Adidas signed Beckham as their star soccer boot icon back in 2003. The latter penned a lifetime deal with the German brand, and he pocketed a whopping £115 million. The former Manchester United man wore one of the most famous models of soccer boots, the Adidas Predator.

However, just four years after signing a multi-million deal, the player ditched the model due to a shocking reason. Beckham learned that the boots he wore were actually made of kangaroo skin. He also became aware of some dire methods that were used to make his favorite boots.

His decision became rigid after animal rights groups sent him a video that showed how the baby kangaroos were separated from their mother and were beaten to death. The clip also had some tragic scenes of kangaroos being taken to the Adidas factory, where the boots were actually produced.

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This, of course, led the Golden Balls to make an instant decision to ditch the leather boots in favor of fancy synthetic fabric boots. His gesture surely helped him garner a lot of appreciation from animal rights activists at that time. In fact, this decision was recently taken by a famous brand, Nike.

Finally, an end to the cruel practice

A few months ago, the Oregon Senate proposed a bill that would make it illegal to use any part of a dead kangaroo or any product that contains a part of a dead kangaroo. Breaking this law would result in penalties, such as heavy fines and punishment.

Hence, the introduction of the law forced the American brand, Nike, to stop the use of kangaroo products. The famous brand announced it would ditch kangaroo leather by the end of 2023 for its famous Tiempo model. The announcement came just days after Puma also declared it would drop the use of kangaroo leather.

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Either way, it is a great initiative that the soccer bootmaker took, as animal cruelty is a practice that needs to be abolished. Nevertheless, what are your thoughts about this? Let us know in the comments.