Olympic prodigy Michael Phelps is feeling the hit, not from a bong which he was candidly photographed smoking, but from the media frenzy that has been ignited by its surfacing in a British tabloid’s front page. The historic athlete was allegedly photographed at a college party while putting to use his impressive lung capacity on a huge, orange, cylinder-shaped bong. The unfortunate indiscretion has Phelps’ handlers scrambling for PR band aids and may have sobering repercussions for the 23 year old gold medalist.

In a statement released this weekend, Phelps conceded the authenticity of the photograph, as well as apologized for disappointing his fans and family. “I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again.” What is most worrisome for Phelps and his management team is the catastrophic implications this may have for his sponsorships. Phelps came back from Beijing as a marketing expert’s wet dream, and was estimated to cash in more than $100 million dollars in advertising sponsorships. Some of his most important advertising sponsors include Omega Luxury Watches, Hilton Hotels, Speedo, and Kellogg’s. Corporate sponsorships are very sensitive when it comes to drug use involvement by the athlete representing them. This could very possibly leave Phelps High and Dry.

One of the most affected sponsors by this candid moment of Olympic space travel is Omega Watches. The photograph clearly shows an Omega Speedmaster Professional on Phelps’ left wrist, while grasping the glass water-filled pipe. Omega has not commented on the situation yet. The circumstances are embarrassing, as Omega stood behind Phelps in a recent controversy which put in question his 1/100th second win in the Olympic 100 meters butterfly. Omega watches hesitated for weeks before releasing underwater footage in which it is still not clearly visible to the naked eye, whether Phelps or Cavic won the race.
The picture, which has circulated all over the internet, celebrity mainstream media, and was the number 1 search term in Google all weekend, will surely affect the Olympian’s business relationship with the official Olympic time-keeper. Other sponsors might be more sympathetic. PR experts speculate, the lack of sponsorship denouncements to the picture come as a result of companies waiting to gauge the media’s portrayal of the controversy, as well as calculate when it will blow over.

The lesson learned? Don’t smoke pot!
If you are going to, don’t let ambitious onlookers photograph you. If you are going to let them photograph you, at least take off the luxury timepiece given to you by your biggest sponsor. If all the later fail, invoke the Clinton Doctrine: Apologize and tell the media you did not inhale.