Should sponsors be held the same standards as teams?

[Madison]

In response to some of the discussion taking place in a thread about the new control system (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...hreadid=57475), I thought it might be interesting to have a discussion about what behavior we expect from sponsors and, perhaps, mentors outside their participation in FIRST.

Should be there some litmus test that determines whether a company or individual has acted with the "gracious professionalism" we regard so highly or does the oft repeated warning that it should be used only as an internal measuring stick apply here as well?

Perhaps it's true that sponsorship of a FIRST event by Anheuser-Busch would be inappropriate were it handled in the same way that sponsorship of a football game might be, but what if the money came with no strings attached? What about such a company might make its support unwanted by FIRST or its teams?

Where would you draw the line regarding acceptable corporate or personal behavior before accepting money from a potential sponsor? Is it a deal-breaker if they lie to Congress, but okay if they've been party to egregious environmental devastation? No-go if they make bombs, but peachy-keen if they use sweatshop labor to produce their products?

I guess I'm just stirring the pot some, but I'm interested in getting an idea of y'all feel about what might constitute inappropriate behavior by a current or future sponsor and how we should react to that behavior -- and how we weigh the pros and cons of what each sponsor and mentor bring to the program.