Michael Phelps spoke out for the first time today since the controversial photo of him smoking marijuana from a bong was published earlier in this week.
But perhaps some of the financial damage to his wallet has already been done.
According to the Associated Press, "Battle Creek, Mich.-based cereal and snack maker Kellogg said Phelps's behavior is "not consistent with the image of Kellogg."
The company today said in a statement that it will not renew its contract with Phelps, which expires at the end of February.
The AP goes on to report that:
"Most of his major sponsors, such as Visa Inc., Speedo, luxury Swiss watchmaker Omega and sports beverage PureSport's maker Human Performance Labs, stood by the athlete following the news, even if they didn't condone his behavior."
In more bad news for the star athlete USA swimming has suspended Phelps for three months.
"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 said in a statement.
