An Adidas spokesman said: “We’ve terminated Adam Johnson’s contract with immediate effect following his guilty plea on Wednesday”.
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Blackwell said: “What has brought the defendant to this courtroom is a sexual desire for [the complainant], an excessive arrogance and an unwarranted level of expectation”.
The England footballer Adam Johnson abused his “revered position in society” to touch sexually a 15-year-old star-struck fan inside his black Range Rover, a jury heard on Friday.
Bradford Crown Court, West Yorks., also heard that the defendant had allegedly made two internet searches about the legal age of consent.
She said: “His is the success story that many young people can only dream of”.
The girl was 15 at the time of the sexual contact and Johnson was living with his partner Stacey Flounders who was then pregnant with their daughter in Castle Eden, County Durham.
The footballer made repeated requests for her to delete the contact between them, the prosecution allege.
The 28-year-old played for Middlesbrough and Manchester City prior to his arrival at the Stadium of Light, with the club spending £10m to sign him in August 2012.
Johnson denies two charges of sexual activity with a girl under the age of 16.
Miss Blackwell said: “Her (the girl’s) real passion was Sunderland Football Club”.
Sunderland have terminated the contract of midfielder Adam Johnson after he pleaded guilty to grooming and sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl at the start of his trial. The winger then went on to play for his club Sunderland and starred in their effort to beat the drop in the Premier League.
“Duncan looks longer-term with ankle ligaments; Younes Kaboul was fully-fit last week and unfortunately turned his ankle on the Friday and he’s out for a couple of weeks, but Younes could be available when we get over this game, so it may not be the loss of games so much, but the time they take to get fit again, which is obviously very important for us”.
The first involved meeting a child following sexual grooming between 30 December 2014 and 26 February 2015.
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“After matches, she would hang around waiting for a glimpse of him, wanting to get a photograph, often sporting a Sunderland shirt with Johnson’s name emblazoned across the back”, Prosecutor Kate Blackwell QC told the court.
