Spring Break
A merman's fall from grace
No more cereal for this pothead
Lara Oliver
Issue date: 2/10/09 Section: Opinion
OK, gather 'round everybody. I've got some shocking news. You ready for it? Sometimes, young people experiment with drugs and alcohol.
Shocking, right? Just wait for it; sometimes those young people are celebrities or even athletes. I apologize if I've blown anyone's mind to the point of no return.
All right, I'm putting my snarky sarcasm aside for a second. But you can't really blame me for it. This past week, cable news and the executives at Kellogg's and Subway have been making me roll my eyes so hard, I think I've seen the inside of my skull at some point.
Unless your only news source is The East Carolinian (which it should be), you've probably already heard the scandalous story about 14-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps and his enjoyment of certain illegal recreational activities. You've probably also seen the backlash already. Apparently, Phelps' activities warranted not only banning him from competing, but in some pundits' eyes, his medals should be revoked as well.
Sound familiar? Students my age and older will remember a similar tale in 1998 concerning Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati and having his gold medal revoked after testing positive for trace amounts of marijuana during the Winter Olympics.
Luckily for Ross, after alleging that the trace amounts were from inhaling the smoke at a party and not from his own use, his gold medal was reinstated.
Phelps was not so lucky as the old adage of "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" can be related not only to his height but his fame as well. Earlier last week, Kellogg's pulled Phelps as a spokesperson, as did Subway.
Yet, later on in the week, Subway seemed to have done a double-take and announced that they would not be pulling Phelps for sponsorship. Kellogg's, as well, announced that they weren't pulling sponsorship for Phelps, but instead would not renew his contract (same difference).
Ignoring the obvious cognitive dissonance of cereal and sandwich companies dropping sponsorship for a celebrity because of his marijuana use, the fair-weathered decisions strike me as an attempt to follow the popular morality with no thought toward the actions these companies are decrying.
Shocking, right? Just wait for it; sometimes those young people are celebrities or even athletes. I apologize if I've blown anyone's mind to the point of no return.
All right, I'm putting my snarky sarcasm aside for a second. But you can't really blame me for it. This past week, cable news and the executives at Kellogg's and Subway have been making me roll my eyes so hard, I think I've seen the inside of my skull at some point.
Unless your only news source is The East Carolinian (which it should be), you've probably already heard the scandalous story about 14-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps and his enjoyment of certain illegal recreational activities. You've probably also seen the backlash already. Apparently, Phelps' activities warranted not only banning him from competing, but in some pundits' eyes, his medals should be revoked as well.
Sound familiar? Students my age and older will remember a similar tale in 1998 concerning Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati and having his gold medal revoked after testing positive for trace amounts of marijuana during the Winter Olympics.
Luckily for Ross, after alleging that the trace amounts were from inhaling the smoke at a party and not from his own use, his gold medal was reinstated.
Phelps was not so lucky as the old adage of "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" can be related not only to his height but his fame as well. Earlier last week, Kellogg's pulled Phelps as a spokesperson, as did Subway.
Yet, later on in the week, Subway seemed to have done a double-take and announced that they would not be pulling Phelps for sponsorship. Kellogg's, as well, announced that they weren't pulling sponsorship for Phelps, but instead would not renew his contract (same difference).
Ignoring the obvious cognitive dissonance of cereal and sandwich companies dropping sponsorship for a celebrity because of his marijuana use, the fair-weathered decisions strike me as an attempt to follow the popular morality with no thought toward the actions these companies are decrying.
Be the first to comment on this story