Shoes untied.

L.A. Gear Inc., which had signed a co-branding deal with the now-notorious Ron Artest for a line of basketball shoes, announced after his televised brawl that it might cut its ties with Pacers forward.

"We felt it was our responsibility to address this situation as soon as possible," said David Angelo, chairman and chief creative officer of L.A.-based ad agency davidandgoliath, which was hired by L.A. Gear to run a print ad campaign shortly after Artest was signed.

L.A. Gear immediately pulled photos of Artest and endorsement materials from its Web site.

Morals clauses in endorsement contracts provide an escape hatch, but they should be exercised carefully, said Sharon R. Klein, partner in charge at Pepper Hamilton LLP, which represents several professional sports teams.

"It can backfire," Klein said, noting that Fila was countersued when it dropped Sacramento Kings forward Chris Webber. He was arrested in 1998 for assaulting a police officer but later acquitted. "The difference in this situation, though, is that nobody can say Artest didn't do it," she said. "We all saw it on TV."