Will Nike re-sign Maria Sharapova as brand ambassador?

Sportswear giant Nike might just give disgraced tennis star Maria Sharapova a second chance after severing ties with the player. Sharapova had recently admitted that she had failed a drug test after the Australian Open.

The Russian was involved in a major controversy after admitting to using the now banned Meldonium for 10 years due to a family history of diabetes. However, she claimed that she was innocent as she did not know that the medicine was included in the list of banned drugs that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) released last year.

Fortune quoted Nike Global Brand head, Trevor Edwards as saying: "Each time those situations happen, you are saddened and disappointed. At the same time, there are many athletes that inspire us,"

"At the end of the day, athletes are humans just like the rest of us, and they have the same frailties that the rest of us have. And sometimes these moments become teaching moments."

Nike, in the past as well has re-signed athletes who have failed dope tests. A case in point is American athlete Justin Gatlin, who was welcomed back into the Nike family after he served doping suspensions not once but twice.

However, even if Nike do re-sign Sharapova, other brands like Tag Heuer, Porsche and the United Nations seem uninterested in re-inducting the player.