2013 was a rough year for Reebok and Rick Ross. After signing Ross to endorse the brand, which had previously ended its rapper relationships when it dissolved its Rbk line, Reebok was forced to drop Ross because of questionable lyrics he rapped on Rocko's "U.O.E.N.O."
Right now, Ross has a precarious connection with Reebok. He no longer endorses Reebok, but is seen as a "friend" of the brand and has become a "Ross Fit" advocate, his own brand of CrossFit. But things weren't always so smooth between Reebok and Ross after their split.
On May 1, 2013 at the Footwear News CEO Summit, Reebok CEO Uli Becker, who has since left the brand, said, "It's unfortunate because he's a great guy, he just has stupid advisors around him," in reference to Ross.
After the quote got out, there was confusion if Becker and Ross had met to hash out their differences. Swizz Beatz, who is the creative director of Reebok Classic, posted a picture on Instagram with the caption, "Positive Energy !!!!! ROSS X SWIZZ X REEBOK CEO!!!!!! today's meeting." Which lead people to believe that Ross had met with Becker, but he had, in fact, met with Reebok CMO Matt O'Toole.
It also didn't help the situation that Meek Mill, who currently endorses Puma, publicly went out and thrashed Reebok. He said, "Fuck Reebok. We wear Pumas. That’s what we do. We wear Puma’. As far as the Rick Ross situation with Reebok, I just don’t approve of none of that. I don’t approve of no companies trying to dip and dab in our culture and then when you make a mistake they dip out on you. So, it’s like they still making money off of our brand."
Things aren't so bad between Reebok and Ross, though, he previewed a potential MMG x Reebok sneaker earlier this year. And Ross is busy popping bottles of Belaire Rosé and lemon-peppering his wings at Wingstop. He also has to deal with the conflict in his own camp, MMG, between Meek Mill and Wale right now—not worry about who's sending him free sneakers.
