The Portland Timbers franchise of North American soccer’s MLS has announced the immediate termination of its front-of-shirt sponsorship with home improvement company DaBella.
The team announced the decision after allegations of misconduct and sexual harassment were leveled against the company’s chief executive, Donnie McMillan Jr.
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The deal was originally announced in November 2023 with DaBella replacing Alaska Airlines as the official shirt sponsor and serving as the team’s official home improvement partner.
Portland’s announcement of the deal has now been deleted from the team’s website, as has any reference to Dabella, with the company’s branding also set to be removed from the Timbers’ Providence Park stadium.
Allegations were made public last Friday (February 23) amid a trial filed in Oregon against the company by former chief financial officer Lowell Swartz over the non-payment.
Before the signing of the initial partnership, the Timbers had vetted DaBella through a third-party firm, and the club said in its statement that it had not been made aware of the allegations, nor the filing itself, until earlier this week.
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By GlobalDataOf the decision to cease all affiliation with DaBella, the Timbers stated: “This decision was rooted in the responsibility we have to our fans, supporters, partners, and employees to transparently reflect and uphold the values and expectations of our community.”
The Timbers organization has been rocked in the past by sexual harassment allegations that ended in the stepping down of minority owner and then-chief executive Merritt Paulson, general manager Gavin Wilkinson, and president Mike Golub.
Paulson is still a minority owner of the Timbers through his Peregrine Ltd investment group, however, the team’s NWSL women’s soccer associate Portland Thorns, which he also owned and from where many allegations stemmed, were since sold.
Alaska Airlines had been a partner of the Timbers for over a decade, but the Timbers are now one week into the MLS season without a shirt sponsor and will likely play against D.C. United on Sunday (March 3) without one.
