High-flying swimmer Michael Phelps apologized to all of China yesterday, in a million-dollar mea culpa aimed at saving his golden advertising deal.
In a subtitled video distributed by auto giant Mazda to Chinese media, the Olympic hero begs forgiveness from fans who cheered his eight gold medals last summer in Beijing.
“To my Chinese friends, as many of you know, I recently engaged in behavior which was regrettable and not what people have come to expect from me,” says Phelps, who mentions the words “Chinese” and “China” six times in 50 seconds.
“I will learn from these mistakes, train hard, and make you proud again.”
A photo of Phelps smoking a bong cost him an ad deal with Kellogg. But Mazda officials, who reportedly hired the swimmer for more than $1 million to push cars in China, said they’re sticking by him.