Coaches' contracts with Nike raise ethical questions

Hartford Courant reporters Lisa Chedekel and Matthew Kauffman won a
month-long legal battle for release of the contracts between University of
Connecticut mens' and womens' basketball coaches Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma and Nike Inc. Over strenuous objections by the coaches' lawyers, the state Ethics Commission decided that the contracts were public documents. A Courant review of the contracts raised questions about whether the contracts violate state ethics laws by linking Calhoun and Auriemma's endorsement deal to a requirement that the teams where Nike sneakers and uniforms.