Michael, Medals, and Pot

 

Michael Phelps. A.K.A- The most decorated athlete of all time. For someone who apparently smokes weed, and is labelled as a "stoner" surely achieved nothing short of greatness thus far in his short lived career. 22 Total Olympic medals throughout his career, which began in Sydney Australia at the ripe young age of 15.

What makes this story interesting is that AT&T, Rosetta Stone, and Kellogg, all had paid Phelps some hefty cash to endorse these various products. Surely enough, after a photo surfaced of the athlete smoking pot at a party in the University of Southern California, Phelps had succumb to the wrath of media and the tabloids. So what happened to "the greatest athlete of all time?" Not only did he lose his endorsements, but a classic example of PR was demonstrated when a conference wad held for him to release this statement to the public:

"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."

In my opinion, this was a mature way to handle an unfortunate situation. Sadly, this wasn't enough for him to obtain the contracts he once had, but I am curious as to why his actions had suffered such severe consequences. Weed is illegal, but so are many of the other activities that celebrities choose to partake in behind closed doors. Does anyone else think he was punished too severely? Weed is legalized in California, where the incident took place, so why is it being so frowned upon?