Michael Phelps may not find himself too ‘high’ on potential sponsors lists after a photo of him smoking marijuana was leaked to British tabloid News of the World Sunday.’ ‘
‘I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment,’ Phelps said in a statement released by his marketing agency, Octagon. ‘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.’
The picture comes from a party that occurred three months after the Olympics. The World Anti-Doping Agency code currently upholds that cannabis, or marijuana, is not banned during out of competition testing; an athlete is only subject to sanctions if he or she tests positive during competition periods.’ ‘
What is the problem, then?
Despite the fact that the slip-up will most likely not affect his athletic eligibility, the incident could hurt his expansive endorsement portfolio. His current sponsors include Speedo, Kellogg Co., Mazda, Subway, Visa and AT’amp;T.
All endorsements could total almost $100 million over Phelps’ lifetime.
The Associated Press honored Phelps as the male athlete of the year for 2008 and Sports Illustrated gave him Sportsman of the Year accolades.
Clearly, Phelps is not just a normal 20-something kid, gaining a highly-public role that must now weigh heavily on his conscience. Collegiate swimmers, who know all too well the demands of excelling in the water, seem to feel sympathetic toward his situation.
‘What happened to Phelps is unfortunate. He has accomplished more than people can even dream about, which set expectations high, but it’s easy to forget he is still a kid,’ swimmer Garrett Marqua ’09 said.
‘At 23 years old he has spent the majority of his life training and dedicating himself to the pool. That means no drinking, no partying late night and there’s no chance he has had a typical upbringing. The guy just won eight gold medals and what he does in the off season is his business,’ Marqua added.
Emily Benton, a senior member of the swim team at Loyola College in Maryland, agrees with Marqua’s sentiments.
‘Overall, I feel it’s a bad representation for him and the sport by showing that swimmers are wild on the off season,’ she said.’ ‘He needs to know that he is a national figure now.
‘But at the same time, he is only 23. I feel like he’s just conflicted right now with being a normal person.’
In response to the photograph controversy, appropriate voices for Phelps have issued statements to appease fans and sponsors.’ ‘ ‘ ‘
‘Michael is a role model, and he is well aware of the responsibilities and accountability that come with setting a positive example for others, particularly young people,’ the U.S. Olympic Committee said in a statement. ‘In this instance, regrettably, he failed to fulfill those responsibilities.’
Despite Phelps’ ‘failure,’ Fairfield fans of Phelps try to understand his situation from their respective viewpoints.
Senior Emily Janis, a member of the varsity field hockey team, thinks that his decision was one of poor judgment, yet she still admires his athletic ability.’
‘I think what he did was stupid, but it doesn’t make him a bad person,’ she said.’ ‘Hopefully the athletic community still recognizes him as a great talent.’
Lauren Levy ’09, a marketing and sales intern, understands how this could possibly have an adverse effect on his marketing potential.’
‘Often times with fame and fortune comes reckless behavior, which is fine if you don’t have millions of dollars riding on your back,’ she said.’ ‘I think any 23-year-old experiments the way he did, but he has to realize that he isn’t just a normal college student.’
If Phelps were a Fairfield athlete, he could find himself losing more than just a major sponsorship.
‘If a situation arose like this with a Fairfield University student athlete, we would follow the guidelines in the student-athlete code of conduct or drug/alcohol policy to handle any consequences, education, counseling, etc,’ Alison Sexton, Fairfield Senior Associate Director of Athletics, said.’ ‘The student would also be subject to the policies for all students out of the Dean of Students office.’
All Fairfield University athletes receive the Student-Athlete Handbook at the beginning of each school year.
In the code of conduct, marijuana remains on the ‘Prohibited Substances’ list.’ The section reads that use of any drug on the list ‘is expressly prohibited whether such use occurs before, during or after the student athlete’s season.’
All student-athletes must sign a consent form annually that confirms their willingness to be drug-tested upon request. If a student refuses to sign, he or she will become ineligible to participate on the respective athletic team.
Drug tests occur unannounced throughout the school year, and typically take the form of urine sampling. The NCAA list of banned substances can be found at its official Web site for Health and Safety regulations.’ ‘
Individual athletes from all teams are selected at unannounced, random times during the year.’ The Stags men’s and women’s basketball teams, however, will have individuals selected every time.’ ‘ ‘
Stringent rules like these do not exist for Phelps, however, and will not prevent him from returning to the pool. He took only four months off before beginning to prepare for post-Olympic events, as well as the 2012 games in London.’
The Beijing Olympics eight-time gold medal winner’s coach Bob Bowman issued a single statement through Phelps’ agent, according to Yahoo! News.’
‘He regrets his behavior, and I’m sure he’ll learn from this experience,’ Phelps’ coach said.
‘I’m glad to have him back in training.’
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