West Ham sponsor suspends involvement after latest Kurt Zouma update
Major sponsors of West Ham United, Vitality Insurance, have suspended their involvement with the club with immediate effect, according to BBC Sport journalist Simon Stone.
The Irons’ “Wellness partner” have taken action after Kurt Zouma was shown to have physically abused a cat in a social media video on Sunday (6 February).
He has since been fined two weeks wages by the football club – which will go to animal welfare charities, and the RSPCA have taken the cats involved away from his care.
As reported by Stone, Vitality have said: “We were very distressed by the video we have seen of Kurt Zouma. At Vitality, we condemn animal cruelty and violence of any kind. We are hugely disappointed by the judgement subsequently shown by the club in response to this incident.
“As such, we are suspending our sponsorship of West Ham United with immediate effect. We will now be further engaging with the club to understand what actions they will be taking to address the situation.”
Just the beginning
Vitality are the first sponsors to speak out but they surely won’t be the last in the next few days.
Now that the Hammers have taken action over the Frenchman, those backing the club may be persuaded to remain involved and that is crucial for their season.
Zouma needs to accept any punishment he receives but it is important not to ruin his career entirely because of one incident.
It is obviously an abhorrent and disgusting thing to do that needs serious attention by the authorities and he might not be seen the same again by some football supporters.
But this can’t be the moment of idiocy that sees him kicked to the curb and have his career stuffed down the toilet.
Now is the time for education, and forgiveness when a good amount of time has passed because playing him against Watford was a bizarre decision.
In other West Ham news, David Moyes has outlined what needs to be done for the Irons to reach the top four by the end of the season.