"Rashard Mendenhall exercised his freedom of speech to make controversial comments on Twitter about Osama bin Laden and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

As a result, the company that pays him to endorse its product exercised its right to drop him as a client.

Champion, an athletic apparel company, said in a statement it has ended its business relationship with the Steelers running back, saying he can no longer "appropriately represent Champion."

The company said Mendenhall's tweets about bin Laden and the terrorist attacks "were inconsistent with the values of the Champion brand and with which we strongly disagreed."

"Champion is a strong supporter of the government's efforts to fight terrorism and is very appreciative of the dedication and commitment of the U.S. Armed Forces," the statement said."