Portland Trail Blazers no longer partnering with rifle scope manufacturer Leupold & Stevens

The Portland Trail Blazers have ended their partnership with Beaverton-based rifle scope manufacturer Leupold and Stevens.

Blazers President and CEO Chris McGowan announced the end of the controversial partnership during the organization’s media day Monday. A coalition of activists staged protests to put pressure on the Blazers to cut ties with Leupold and Stevens last season, but McGowan said those protests were not the main reason for the partnership coming to an end.

“Leupold is no longer a partner of the organization,” McGowan said. “I thank them for many years of supporting our organization. They were a great partner when they were a sponsor, but for various reasons, some unrelated to what you’re referencing, they’ve decided to go in a different direction.”