The Seahawk

Issue date: 2/5/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Courtesy of Paul Kitagaki Jr. (MCT) Michael Phelps was a media sensation during his run at the Bejing Olympic. Five months later he finds himself back in the spotlight, but for all the wrong reasons.

The latest superstar athlete to find himself in trouble is the golden boy of the summer, Michael Phelps. Phelps captivated the world during the 2008 summer games as he won a record eight gold medals and proved that no one can catch him in the pool. It turns out a camera is much harder to avoid than a storming Ian Thorpe.

Phelps was caught smoking from a bong at a house party in South Carolina three months after the Olympics ended in August. Phelps issued an apology when the photo came out on a British tabloid on Sunday. "I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," he said. "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."

Here is what's wrong with this apology: He never actually apologizes. Phelps says he is "sorry" for acting inappropriately but never admits to smoking weed nor does he denounce drug use. This would be a perfect opportunity for him to admit to a mistake and make a stand against kids using drugs. We shouldn't expect anything less from Phelps, who has never been much of a role model. After his six gold medals in the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 19-year-old Phelps was caught drinking and driving, and had to issue his first public apology. The 23-year-old Phelps is obviously not much smarter.

After the 2008 Olympics, Phelps signed contracts with sponsors worth over $100 million, including companies such as Speedo, Omega Sports, Puresport, Sprint, Power Bar, Hilton Hotels and many, many more. As of today, no company has dropped Phelps from its advertising campaign. None have docked a portion of his endorsment payments or even issued a warning to Phelps stating that such behavior is unacceptable. Instead, most of his endorsers are backing the high profile Olympian and claim to be pleased with the way he's handling the situation. The head spokesman for Puresport praised Phelps for his "apology."

"We applaud the fact that he has taken full and immediate responsibility for his mistake and apologized to us, his fans and the public and we support him during this difficult time," Michael Humphrey, Chief Executive of Human Performance Labs for Puresport said.

The sad reality is that Michael Phelps is worth millions and would have to commit a much more serious crime for one of his sponsors to drop him. The worst part of this whole episode is that no one is taking the high road. Phelps didn't take the high road by smoking weed and then giving a shoddy apology. His sponsors aren't taking the high road by backing his bad behavior and being entirely concerned with making money. It will be up to the public to take the high road and let Phelps know that his actions will not go unnoticed and his punishment will be in the form of widespread scrutiny by his fans.

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