Sponsors Stick With Phelps

The photo that ignited the furor was said to have been snapped in November when Phelps visited friends in Columbia, South Carolina. (News of the World)(ATR) Two sponsors of Olympian Michael Phelps say that they will stand by the gold medal swimmer, despite a front page photo in a London tabloid showing him using a marijuana pipe.

Phelps, 23, quickly apologized for the photo, a move which experts say may avoid the loss of millions of dollars in endorsements.

Some 48 hours after the photo appeared in News of the World, sponsors Omega and Speedo both issued statements saying that they will keep Phelps as a spokesman.

Phelps, who won eight gold medals in Beijing, also endorses Kellog’s, Visa, Subway and Mazda. Calls from ATR for comment from Visa and Kellog’s were not returned prior to publication of this article.

Mazda, which brought Phelps back to China last month with great fanfare, signed him to the largest-ever single sponsorship deal for a Western celebrity in China.

AT&T is no longer affiliated with Phelps. According to Michael Coe of AT&T, "Our contract with Michael Phelps ended in December of 2008."

Phelps' agent, Peter Carlisle, has said Phelps could potentially earn $100 million in deals during his career.

"I would not expect him to lose a single endorsement, or any potential endorsements," Marc Ganis, president of SportsCorp., a Chicago-based sports business consulting firm, told the Baltimore Sun.

"He has handled himself so well to date that he has earned the benefit of the doubt. Especially at this age, experimentation with things like marijuana for young people in their late teens and early 20s is an understandable action."

However, if he repeats the behavior, Ganis said, that would "demonstrate a character flaw."

Many endorsement contracts have for clauses for behavior, or so-called "morals clauses."

John Antil, an assistant professor at the University of Delaware Lerner College of Business and Economics who studies celebrity endorsements, told the Sun that it would help if Phelps went on talk shows like Late Night with David Letterman.

"And then you hope the press forgets about it and leaves him alone," Antil said. "My guess is because of what happened and his age and his degree of popularity, people are going to give him a break."

However, the photograph brought back to the surface Phelps' DUI at age 19, which could indicate a pattern of misbehavior. He was given 18 months probation after pleading guilty to drunk driving. That incident also happened several months after the Olympics when he was out of training.

Under World Anti-Doping Agency rules, an athlete can test positive for marijuana only during competition, so he is not likely to face any sanctions.

"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I'm 23 years old and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again," said a statement issued by Phelps.

The U.S. Olympic Committee, USA Swimming and IOC also released statements.

USOC: "We are disappointed in the behavior recently exhibited by Michael Phelps. Michael is a role model, and he is well aware of the responsibilities and accountability that come with setting a positive example for others, particularly young people. In this instance, regrettably, he failed to fulfill those responsibilities.

“Michael has acknowledged that he made a mistake Omega says it will keep Phelps as a spokesman. (Getty Images)and apologized for his actions.

“We are confident that, going forward, Michael will consistently set the type of example we all expect from a great Olympic champion."

USA Swimming: "We are certainly disappointed in Michael's behavior. Our Olympic champions are role models who are looked up to by people of all ages, especially young athletes who have their own aspirations and dreams."

IOC: "Michael Phelps is a great Olympic champion. He apologized for his inappropriate behavior. We have no reason to doubt his sincerity and his commitment to continue to act as a role model."

Mel Stewart, the 1992 Olympic 200-meter butterfly gold medalist who blogs as "Gold Medal Mel," wrote, "From a personal standpoint I hope people are just a little bit compassionate." He added later, "MP release confirms report on Super Bowl Sunday. From a biz standpoint I would've waited 24 hours."

Stewart's Facebook friends were passionate about the topic - both defending Phelps and denouncing his actions.

"What a shame Michael Phelps is," wrote one male. "He has a lot of cleaning up to do. Now all the swimmers that idolize him are gonna think it's fine to do that gross stuff Phelps has sponsorships with a half-dozen companies, including Visa. (Visa)because the infamous Michael Phelps can do it."

A female said, "The infamous Michael Phelps is not responsible for raising any children (at least not that I am aware of!). What he did is unfortunate but at the end of the day he did it to himself, and when you think about it what really happened is that he had his trust violated by someone who profited from Michael's digression. ... Some people seem so personally insulted by this and unless you were standing next to him inhaling the second hand smoke I kind of think you need get over it! If a young person is getting their only guidance in life from Michael Phelps then they have issues way bigger then seeing him take a bong hit."

Phelps has resumed training and expects to compete in his first meet since the Olympics in March. The FINA World Championships will be held in Rome in July and Phelps expects to compete through the 2012 London Olympics.

He has never tested positive for banned substances and was one of several U.S. athletes who agreed to extra tests before Beijing to prove they were clean.

Kevin Hench, a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com, wondered of Phelps' behavior "Will it be the $100M bong hit?" He joked that Subway's advertising campaign would be: "I'm Michael Phelps for Subway. Their freshly-baked bread is even more delicious when you're freshly baked."

Hench cited a FOXSports.com poll that found that 79 percent of readers chose "He's 23, can we all relax?" while only 21 percent voted for "I'm dismayed, I can't believe he would do that."

On Monday, he was the "Hot Topic," on the popular U.S. talk show, "The View," which devoted several minutes to his problems.

"He's being a kid, he made a mistake," said Whoopie Goldberg, but Barbara Walters retorted, "The difference is he is a role model. He's getting paid millions of dollars to be a role model for young kids. The big question is are these endorsements going to continue, and what do the sponsors feel about it?"

Elisabeth Hasselbeck, the conservative voice on the panel, said she wondered "if he's willing to take a drug that will impede his performance," would he then take a drug that would enhance his performance. "Why would anyone shut the door on an illegal drug that would help them?"

Written by

Karen Rosen

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