The Warriors are “putting a pause to all FTX-related promotional assets in the wake of the cryptocurrency firm filing for bankruptcy,” according to Madeline Kenney of the San Jose MERCURY NEWS. The team said that a G Jordan Poole bobblehead given to the first 10,000 fans at Monday’s game against the Spurs, which was “planned far in advance to last week’s news, would be the last FTX promotion in connection with the Warriors.” All other in-arena promotions and advertisements “have been removed for the foreseeable future.” The news “comes three days after” the Heat announced they were ending their naming rights deal with the “embroiled cryptocurrency exchange” (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 11/14). YAHOO SPORTS’ Ryan Young noted FTX also had “other sports endorsements and partnerships in recent years, including with several notable athletes in commercials and even on MLB umpire uniforms” (YAHOO SPORTS, 11/14).

AMBASSADORS EMBARASSED? In San Jose, Martha Ross notes FTX’s celebrity “brand ambassadors” could also “face questions about their role in promoting such a risky investment.” Warriors G Stephen Curry, Buccaneers QB Tom Brady, and model Gisele Bündchen “were given equity stakes in FTX,” although it is “not clear how much any of them received.” Curry was “made a global ambassador for FTX;” the Warriors star’s commercial “humorously plays up the idea that he’s no ‘expert’ in cryptocurrency, the concept of which remains elusive to many consumers.” It “ends with the NBA champion assuring his fans and others that they don’t need to know that much about cryptocurrency to make money investing — if they use FTX.” Brady “served as an ambassador for the company,” while Bündchen “specifically held a post as ‘FTX’s Environmental & Social Initiatives Advisor.’” They also “starred in several TV commercials for FTX” (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 11/14).