Oct. 4, 2016, 1:45 p.m. -  Amanda

#!markdown Well said, and thank you for aiding in the distinction. For the record, I wasn't talking about 'grassroots sponsorship'. I was specifically speaking about the 'sports ambassadorship' that is often portrayed as an athletic sponsorship, despite the ambassador not being an elite (or otherwise competitive) athlete. My apologies for not making this clear. A dear friend of mine actually linked me to the following article, which provides a good general context for 'ambassadorship', despite skipping over the 'athlete marketing' side of things. However, Lacy Kemp really said it well in Cam's most recent 'Hate' piece -- brands have to tell stories. Overall? It's been a fascinating conversation and one I'm happy to have been part of moving forward into a positive and productive direction. <https://medium.com/@matthewscd/brand-ambassadors-2ebb6e58743b#.ty631bwe0>