While Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant's legal problems, and his admission of adultery, taint his reputation and tarnish his value as a corporate spokesman, athletes will continue to be important to marketers, says a Duke University sociology instructor.

"Because Americans still admire success and the achievement of difficult goals, companies quite naturally want to associate their products with athletic superstars," says Gary Hull, director of Duke's Program on Values and Ethics in the Marketplace. "Talented athletes represent typically American virtues -- the virtues of single-minded pursuit toward the achievement of difficult goals. This is what makes them valuable to marketers.

"However, the value of an athletic endorsement is more than just touchdowns, home runs and spectacular dunks. It's based on the whole person, his image -- which means at root his character. For marketers, Kobe Bryant is a tragic case of a fissure in a superstar's personal character lowering the value of his athletic greatness."

Hull can be reached for additional comment at (919) 660-5608 or by e-mail at gahull@soc.duke.edu.