And they say weed never hurt anybody. Sure you can still operate heavy machinery and might not reenact a scene from "Too Fast Too Furious" on the city streets potentially killing someone but your alcohol vs marijuana stats might be lost on Michael Phelps. Now that the "mistake" has been leaked by a British tabloid showing the 8 time Olympian gold medal winner bonged out at a house party this past November, Kellogg's has dropped him quicker than quality minority TV shows on major TV networks and U.S Swimming has suspended him from competition until May without pay.
USA Swimming only provides a $1,750 monthly stipend to national team members to help with travel and training expenses, plus performance bonuses. Granted it's a small percentage of the millions Phelps makes through endorsements however I doubt Phelps would trade competitive swimming for wading in a kiddie pool for 3 months straight.
"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," the Colorado Springs-based federation said in a statement.
Yes, the millions of kids that look up to Phelps were surely disappointed by the monstrosity of Phelps being captured getting so up, close and personal with the "sticky icky." Why where will America's children get their inspiration from to break world records and obtain other nearly impossible hopes and dreams? Hmm, luckily for Phelps, thousands of supporters have rallied around him offering up their support for his plight including fellow dopeheads, fans, teammates and other Olympians such as Olympic gold medalist, swimmer Amanda Beard who made a splash in a sea of media and public scrutiny for her naked pictorial in Playboy.
"Enough is enough," said Evan Morgenstein, a rival agent who represents a large number of Olympic swimmers. "The penalty is far greater than the crime. He has said he is sorry. Let's move on to the real problems in this country."
Even Katt Williams took some time to offer up some words of encouragement.
Despite, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott telling the Los Angeles Times that he would charge Phelps if he could prove the U.S. Olympian smoked marijuana in his county, Phelps chances for competing in the 2012 Olympics in London haven't gone up in smoke. In fact, his stock has gone up on Google with related searches Michael Phelps Smoking Weed and Michael Phelps Marijuana headlining 8,990,000 searches for the Olympian, Phelps might have other endorsement deals on the horizon such as spokesperson for High Times Magazine, his own line of 24kt gold bongs, you name it! Sky's the limit!
