Category: Sport Author : Duncan Riley Posted: February 5, 2009
Tags : Michael Phelps, michael phelps banned, michael phelps kellogs
The so far mostly positive reaction to the now famous bong pic couldn’t last for Michael Phelps, and it hasn’t.
Phelps has been suspended for 3 months by USA Swimming, including all financial support for the period.
“This is not a situation where any anti-doping rule was violated, but 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 a hero,” a spokesman said.
The positive reaction to the picture from Omega wasn’t matched by Kellog’s, who have decided to dump Phelps, saying the photo was “”not consistent with the image of [Kellogg's]“. Phelps appears on Corn Flake boxes.
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Feb 5, 2009
I don't want to go on a tirade here, so I'll keep it short.
a) The IOC said they don't care about this. As far as swimming and the competitive world is concerned, that's like a mandate from God.
b) If this were in any number of other countries, they again wouldn't give a shit.
c) It was weed. Not like it was him doing PCP while 'roiding out on the back of a camel or something. Seriously, get some perspective here.
d) I don't personally smoke myself, but most people of the <40 agegroup in America don't care, and there's still alot over that agegroup that don't either. Why it's still a criminal offense is beyond me, and millions of other Americans. Probably something to do with “rich white self-contradictory fat bastards in Congress”, or something.
e) Suspending him for three months? Let's think about this for a second. He has more than enough money to get through that without financial help from sponsors. He's likely not competing in the USA Swimming meet cycle anymore. The next swimming in the Olympics is years away, and qualifiers for that is still pretty far from a training perspective, if that even matters for him. So this is essentially them saying “Look, we're castrated here but want to look like manly men, so we're going to pretend to punish you. But you can still make lots of money and win the world's attention for us and the US swimming community, it's cool. We love you, we want you, but you've been a BAD BAD BOY”
What a bunch of retarded crap.
–Kyle