Despite being recently photographed taking a hit of marijuana from a bong, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps seems to be in alright shape with his sponsors, at least for now. So far none of them have come out publicly condemning him, and as far as everyone knows, no one's dropped him yet.

Several of Phelps' sponsors, including Speedo, Hilton Hotels, and Omega, are standing by him and have accepted his public apology. Other major sponsors such as Subway, Visa, and Kellogg haven't yet commented.

The photograph of Phelps appeared Sunday in the British tabloid "News of the World." Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals at the Olympics this past summer in Beijing, couldn't have been all that surprised when they were published, as he had already tried buying the photos back and promising favors to prevent their publication. Phelps issued an apology regarding his "regrettable" behavior and "bad judgement." The photo was said to have been taken during a house part in November at the University of South Carolina.

Even though Phelps was quick to apologize and acknowledge his mistake, he might not yet be out of the woods. He's on thin ice now, and if he doesn't play it safe and messes up again, he could hurt his chances for future endorsements. There's also still the chance that he could be quietly dropped from sponsors once the initial frenzy around his slip-up dies down.

This is not Phelps' first mistake when it comes to substance abuse. Following the 2004 Athens Games, Phelps, who was underage at the time, was arrested for drunken driving. He apologized then, saying he'd never make that mistake again. If Phelps is busted a third time, chances are, the public and his sponsors won't be so easy on him.

If any of his sponsors decide to drop him, it will likely be those not directly connected to athletics, such as Kellogg or VISA. But those products he uses anyways, such as Speedo, aren't likely to give him the boot. While no one has dropped him following the photo's publication on Sunday, it has been suggested that some companies may be looking into their "morality clauses" in the contracts signed in order to back out of the deal.

Then again, Phelps is a world-class athlete. What might have been tougher to overcome if he was a lesser-known and accomplished athlete, may not be much to him. It could take a bigger incident to bring him down. That being said, this is his second strike, so who knows how this will all play out.