Kellogg has dumped Michael Phelps from his endorsement deal. After being photographed hitting the bong, Phelps apologized and began to publicly acknowledge that the 2012 Olympics might have to go without him. Phelps probably also gave a little prayer that his multi-million dollar endorsement contracts wouldn’t go south.
Kellogg’s official statement is not that Phelps was fired, but rather that his contract is not being extended. As of this moment, Kelloggs is the only one to jump ship – Visa, Speedo and Omega are staying with Phelps. Perhaps they think smoking the bong isn’t that big of a deal? Is it an implicit endorsement for mary jane? Who knows.
Smoking pot is not grrrrrrrreat.
So says Kellogg in not pursuing a new contract with Michael Phelps as a corn flakes spokesman after a photo showed him apparently smoking a marijuana pipe.
“We originally built the relationship with Michael, as well as the other Olympic athletes, to support our association with the U.S. Olympic team,” a company spokeswoman says in a statement. “Michael’s most recent behavior is not consistent with the image of Kellogg. His contract expires at the end of February and we have made a decision not to extend his contract.”
Phelps also was suspended from competition and denied financial support for three months by USA Swimming, the sport’s national governing body.
“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 federation says in a statement. “Michael has voluntarily accepted this reprimand and has committed to earn back our trust.”
The 23-year-old all-time Olympic swimming champ with eight gold medals last summer has apologized. His rep said Thursday the swimmer “accepts these decisions and understands their point of view.”
“He feels bad he let anyone down,” the rep says. “He’s also encouraged by the thousands of comments he’s received from his fans and the support from his many sponsors. He intends to work hard to regain everyone’s trust.”
Phelps’s other sponsors, including Speedo, Omega watch and Visa, have stuck by him.
From People
I honestly thought that corn-flake-making Kellogg company was a subsidiary of Halliburton/Kellogg, Brown and Root, that’s how much I know. Turns out, the “Kellogg” of Halliburton/KBR is another Kelloggs altogether. So Michael Phelps just got rejected by a corn flakes company, not by a company that makes war machines. So that’s something.
Visa, Omega and Speedo are sticking with Phelps for a reason – he’s a good kid who’s insanely talented in the pool. Let him hit the bong every once in a while, it’s no big deal!
Note by Celebitchy: Phelps may have a little more time to think about that money he lost and whether he’s going to go to the Olympics. He was just suspended from all competition for three months by USA Swimming, the governing body that regulates all competitive swimming in the US. USA Swimming said in a statement that they wanted to send a message that the kind of behavior Phelps was engaging in is not acceptable:
The Olympic great was suspended from competition for three months by USA Swimming, the latest fallout from a photo that showed him inhaling from a marijuana pipe.
The sport’s national governing body also cut off its financial support to Phelps for the same three-month period, effective immediately.
“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.
“Michael has voluntarily accepted this reprimand and has committed to earn back our trust,” the statement said.
Phelps is an extremely focused, high level athlete who is able to tune out a lot of distractions while he’s working on a goal. He has the mental focus to recover from this and move on.There’s little chance he would have earned 14 Olympic medals in his career if he things like this get him down. If Phelps keeps training now and returns to competition as soon as he’s able this will just be a minor setback and not a defining moment in his life.
Phelps is shown at the Olympics on 8/28/08. Credit: PRPhotos
I have to agree with you, Kaiser.
The fact that he has done something that millions of other people who are his age do, without any significant consequences, does not have any relation to his ability to perform as an athlete or his quality as a person. He was smoking, not inciting anyone to do drugs, for God’s sake.
However, I guess that his high profile as an Olympic multi-medalist has something to do with the fact that this has been so blown out of proportion. After all, he was meant to be a role model for the future generations of wholesome, innocent (ha!) and healthy athletes… I guess that this does affect the image that Kellogg’s wanted to project, and that’s why he has been dropped…
Oh well, such is life.
The suspension is a joke. What sporting event is he going to miss in the next three months? Also, how exactly is he going to be prosecuted without the use of hearsay? Especially since they have neither the bong nor the mysterious substance he was smoking. If they could charge people for photos like this in, Facebook and Myspace would shutdown overnight. This entire thing blows my mind considering the current state of the global economy, Iraq and Afghanistan.
This uproar is ridiculous, and most people don’t give a fig. Whatever he’s been doing, it doesn’t interfere with his work ethic and passion for what he does.
(The DUI was a more serious issue, and he overcame that.)
Remember how Obama said he took drugs, and not just once? ‘Nuff said!
This is pretty sad, I guess people in the “real world” don’t really have a clue how common marijuana use is. Utterly rediculous, let’s cut the kid some fucking slack already.
WTF guys. My usually level headed posse is out of their minds! “LET HIM HIT THE BONG ONCE IN A WHILE…”????? That is the single most irresponsible statement ever. We are talking about a man who willingly became a role model for millions of children who suffer from AHAD and other brain disorders. Drugs have serious consequences under any situation, but especially for theses kids. Do we want to send a message that it’s ok to participate in this kind of behavior? Kellog’s is a CHILDREN’S brand of cereal…they had no choice but to terminate his contract…thus sending a very important message to the children: You have to take responsibility for your actions, and that the choices you make have consequences. Olympians represent their country in a way no other sports star or celebrity does…this means that they MUST be held accountable for their behavior…it’s the price they pay for the millions of dollars they earn from the contracts that come there way after the events. Do I feel sorry for him? You bet! I also feel that between his DUI and this incident, he is screaming for some kind of help or release from all the pressure. But drugs are never the answer, and we must stop making excuses for these public messages barraging our children.
What does it say about our society when our newly elected president freely admits that he has used marijuana many times when he was younger and that is perfectly okay with everyone…but this young man is taken so severely to task for doing the exact same thing?
Holy double standard, Batman!
I guess Kelloggs can do whatever the crap they want. If they don’t want someone who smokes weed to represent them, I can understand that. There might have been something in their contract that addresses such behavior. I have no idea.
Having said that, people make far to big a deal out of ganja. I seriously don’t see how it could do much more societal harm than, say, alcohol. ANYthing done to excess can be harmful. I don’t count weed among the things that really should be prohibited in our society like hard drugs should.
I personally have never smoked. I don’t like the smell and I don’t even take tylenol unless it is absolutely necessary. So especially for those battling medical conditions, herb should be available to them. Many people actually do need it and shouldn’t have to settle for a pill that doesn’t work for them.
I must have missed something…when exactly was this picture taken?
Does Kelloggs know how many potheads sit down with a HEAPING, HUGE bowl of CEREAL when they’re high??? lol
Shoot, my brother keeps that company in business!
It would be good to keep in mind that Michael Phelps is an Attention Deficit Disorder kid… A good and basically harmless soul who is also an extraordinary athlete. He became a superstar and millionaire practically over night. I agree, this incident is just a bump in the road.
No Carey. He didn’t willingly become a role model for children with ADHD. He willing participated in the Olympics and because he is an amazing athlete he won 8 gold medals. You know who should be the role model for children (even children with brain disorders)? Their parents! And guess what? They actually chose to be role models because they chose to have children (or chose to have sex, whatever). Pot itself is harmless, the smoking is what is bad about it, but even so, if he were caught having a drink at a bar no one would give a crap. So what if he makes mistakes? It’s not his responsibility to be a role model for children. It’s the parents’ responsibility to tell their children that just because a person is a great athlete doesn’t make them a perfect example of human behavior (even though I personally don’t think pot is a big deal).
I understand why Kellogg’s dumped him. A bulk of their target market consists of kids.
Either way, dumb move to be caught on camera. He just lost a chunk of weed money.
Lizzy, I believe Michael Phelps has stated on several public occassions that he WANTS to be a role model children can look up to. Nobody is saying that he, or any athlete, should be more of a role model for children than their parents; but when you willingly say/do things about how you WANT to be a good role model for kids and get busted for something like a DUI at 19 or photographed smoking pot, you’re going to get criticism for it.
May the little shit who finked on him get nothing but rag-weed and res-bowls from this point forward.
Honestly, I hope this helps to show Midwestern America that you can smoke weed and still be a happy, productive person who *gasp* can make viable contributions to society.
Sleepy, I didn’t know that he claimed to be a role model. That’s my fault. Either way, with a dui in his past, it’s obvious that he is no role model. I understand that technically, there has to be some fallout with his sponsors leaving and being suspended for 3 months, just so that they look like they don’t promote smoking pot. But I love how winning those 8 gold medals managed allowed him to get sponsorships despite the previous dui. Is there a time limit? Just questions I find to be odd. Such a double standard between pot and alcohol, when alcohol is so much worse in so many ways.
Dear Lizzy,
Yes…he DID willingly become a role model for children. He has said so MANY times. Olympic athletes are a very different catagory than other celebrities, and they know it. Smoking pot is NOT harmless. You are a fool to suggest it. Altered states lead to poor decision making that can change your life in an instant. Personally, I’ve smoked a lot of dope in my younger days…I have nothing against people who do. But to stand up and say that it is harmless, or that there should be no consequences from participating in an illegal activity if caught, is just irresponsible.
I posted this on the other link, but I’ll post it again (with a few edits) because I still think it’s valid – and I agree with Carey:
Bottom line, it doesn’t matter who did it (you, me, Obama, etc.), it’s still an illegal substance – IE: against the law to possess or use – and DUI is illegal too. I agree/believe that marijuana should be legalized and we, as a country, should let go of our prudishness where this is concerned.
However… big name companies are paying this little speck millions of dollars to have his picture promoted as the ‘wholesome one’ on Kellogg’s boxes, tv commercials, etc… For that reason, his arrogance should have been kept in check, because he just jeopardized his wholesome/role model image – the same image that everyone has been trying to promote with his picture and the same image he’s been paid handsomely for.
Personally, I don’t think it’s fair that he gets a pass while everyone else has to pay the penalty for breaking the same law. He said he was “sorry” and “embarrassed” and “it wouldn’t happen again” after the DUI thing.
I would imagine that quite a bit of Kellogg’s business is the youth market and there is now way they can promote him. I am sure they were aware he was 23 when they signed him, but business is business.
I don’t understand all these people getting nasty against Phelps, aside from possible envy. The man managed to grow up without a father, train hard despite ADHD, go beyond Spitz and… all these people ranting about his smoking? In no way I’m defending doing weed but give the guy a break. OR – if you want him to be held to the same standards you are – get your bum to the swimming pool and start training 8 hours a day. THEN you can speak.
Diva: I almost choked from laughing so hard at your comment. I can’t count how many bowls of corn flakes (my personal fave) I’ve scarfed down to satisfy my herb-induced munchie lust. Sometimes, several in a row. Lol!
LOL… codzilla, my husband doesn’t smoke anymore, but he’s held on to the cake-mixing-sized-bowl of cereal any time of day habit he picked up when he was!
My brother lives on Frosted Flakes when he’s high… so yeah, he LIVES on Frosted Flakes. Maybe he’ll boycot, lol!
Hesus christ it’s a bit of weed. It’s not the bloody apocalypse.
Diva: Tell your brother that, should he decide to boycott Kellog’s, the generic frosted flakes that come in a bag aren’t half bad, lol!
Oh Diva, you made me laugh out loud (I will never get used to write “you made LOL”)…
And Codzilla’s being right: the “fake” frosted flakes aren’t too bad. They should be ok for your brother. And he should not keep that company in business now! 🙂
LOL… Weed Smokers of the World Unite in Kellogg’s Boycott!
DIVA..LOL! kellog is worried about offending the wrong group here..if stoners do unite and boycott frosted flakes..it’s gonna do more damage than they seem to realize
Bad move Kelloggs!! Half your market is the munchie crowd. If they were smart they would just change the toy at the bottom of the box to a starter bong. LOL!