Kellogg drops Phelps; AP admits Phelps didn't admit smoking pot Ron Brynaert

Published: Friday February 6, 2009





Print This Email This Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps never admitted smoking marijuana, but that hasn't stopped the media from reporting he did almost twenty-four seven for the last week.



After the notorious photo of the world-famous Phelps smoking a bong rocketed across the media and internet, he posted the following statement on his Facebook site: "I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I'm 23 years old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public - it will not happen again."



Although it would perhaps be far-fetched to believe that there was nothing but tobacco in the bong, nowhere in the statement did Phelps expressly confess to smoking marijuana. In fact, he didn't even mention the bong at all, just that he "engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment."



But papers like The New York Post plastered that he did cop to toking on their front pages.



An Associated Press story initially reported Thursday, "Cereal and snack maker Kellogg Co. says it will not renew its sponsorhip contract with Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps because he has acknowledged smoking marijuana last fall."



Then a kill notice was later issued by the wire service regarding the story which stated, "Phelps has not acknowledged smoking marijuana or inhaling from a marijuana pipe."



"Cereal and snack maker Kellogg Co. said it won't renew its sponsorship contract with Olympic swimming star Michael Phelps because of a photo that showed him inhaling from a marijuana pipe," the resurrected AP article now reads. "The Battle Creek, Mich.-based company said Thursday that Phelps's behavior  caught on camera and published Sunday in the British tabloid News of the World  is 'not consistent with the image of Kellogg.'"



Last August Phelps was criticized by nutritionists for signing the Kellogg deal to promote Tony the Tiger's cereal.



"I would not consider Frosted Flakes the food of an Olympian," said nutritionist Rebecca Solomon of Mount Sinai Medical Center told the New York Daily News. "I would rather see him promoting Fiber One. I would rather see him promoting oatmeal. I would even rather see him promoting Cheerios."



A previous RAW STORY article on Phelps received over 2,700 votes on Digg, most probably because it differed from most media accounts and talked about how the photo has united pot smokers.



The AP also reports that "Phelps' return to competition for the first time since the Beijing Olympics is on hold. The swimming superstar has been suspended for three months and had his training stipend revoked by USA Swimming."



"Gold medalist Ryan Lochte, one of Phelps' teammates and main rivals in Beijing, said: 'It really is kind of harsh,'" the AP adds. "'It's just a picture.'"



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