Michael Phelps suspended; loses endorsement deal
5 February 2009
View Comments
Posted by Sherwin
Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, who was photographed smoking marijuana using a bong pipe, has lost a major endorsement deal and has been suspended from competition for three months by USA Swimming.
Cereal manufacturer Kellogg’s has announced that it will not renew its sponsorship deal with Phelps which expires at the end of February.
But according to The Associated Press, most of his major sponsors, such as Visa, Speedo, Omega, and PureSports, stood by him following the news, even if they didn’t condone his behavior.
Phelps, estimated to make millions of dollars annually from marketing deals, issued an apology this week after a British tabloid published a photo allegedly showing him smoking pot.
USA Swimming also cut off its financial support to Phelps for the same three-month period, effective immediately. The swimmer receives a monthly stipend of $1,750 from the sport’s national governing body.
“We decided to send a strong message to Michael because he disappointed so many people, particularly the hundreds of thousands of USA Swimming member kids who look up to him as a role model and hero,” the organization said in a statement.
Watch this video by CBS News.
it seems ridiculous that Michael Phelps is getting so much flak from this supposed marijuana scandal… Since when have we taken the reporting of trashy tabloids so seriously?
He did something right & he got paid for it. He did something wrong & he paid for it.
Just think about the many millions of people who never get paid for their efforts or worse did nothing wrong & got punished anyway.
GodYesOrNo.com
boycott kelloggs. take a stand.
Michael Phelps is an American Hero. He stood tall and made America proud at the Beijing Olympics. This is how America treats its heroes, we forget all of the hard work Michael Phelps did to achieve his task, we forget the pride we felt with the each gold medal, we forget how Phelps helped America to be competitive against a Chinese when they planned on winning all of the golds, we forget all of those things and hang a man for smoking glass pipe at a party. That is our shame; America cares little for appreciation and loyalty but is absolute when it comes to misplaced morality. In short America often finds it easier to tear people down and point fingers than it does to recognize freedom and practice good will. I hope they do try to arrest Michael Phelps to further shed light on our hypocrisy and maybe stir the good people of this country up enough to stand up for their friends and neighbors being persecuted in this “drug War”.
it seems ridiculous that Michael Phelps is getting so much flak from this supposed marijuana scandal… Since when have we taken the reporting of trashy tabloids so seriously?
He did something right & he got paid for it. He did something wrong & he paid for it.
Just think about the many millions of people who never get paid for their efforts or worse did nothing wrong & got punished anyway.
GodYesOrNo.com
boycott kelloggs. take a stand.
Michael Phelps is an American Hero. He stood tall and made America proud at the Beijing Olympics. This is how America treats its heroes, we forget all of the hard work Michael Phelps did to achieve his task, we forget the pride we felt with the each gold medal, we forget how Phelps helped America to be competitive against a Chinese when they planned on winning all of the golds, we forget all of those things and hang a man for smoking glass pipe at a party. That is our shame; America cares little for appreciation and loyalty but is absolute when it comes to misplaced morality. In short America often finds it easier to tear people down and point fingers than it does to recognize freedom and practice good will. I hope they do try to arrest Michael Phelps to further shed light on our hypocrisy and maybe stir the good people of this country up enough to stand up for their friends and neighbors being persecuted in this “drug War”.
Leave your response!
Stats
Recent Posts
Categories
Blog Network
Recent Comments
Most Commented