Actually, Michael Phelps made a mistake at the Olympics
Michael Phelps was back in the Olympic pool on Wednesday to continue his quest for more gold medals, and he came out with an extra piece of equipment — a piece of tape on top of his headphones.
On Sunday, Day 2 of the Rio Olympics, he came out wearing Beats headphones with some awkward-looking American flag tape. While it is not unusual to see athletes with the logos covered with tape at events where Beats is not an official partner, there was something different about Phelps, as he did a lackluster job.
SEE MORE: Everything you need to know about the Summer Olympics
While the side logos were covered in the tape, there was still a very noticeable Beats wordmark on top of the headphones. Suddenly the tape seemed like a failed attempt to stamp out what some refer to as "ambush marketing" — having athletes promote brands that are not official partners of the Olympics.
On Tuesday, the wordmark was still not covered. But on Wednesday, somebody with the International Olympic Committee must have finally noticed.
When Phelps came out for the 200 individual medley semifinal, he had a noticeable piece of American flag tape covering the Beats wordmark on top.
And it wasn't just Phelps. Fellow American Ryan Lochte also had some fresh tape on top of his headphones.
This isn't the first time that Beats has caused some controversy with athletes at the Olympics. In 2012, Beats gave many high-profile Olympians free headphones before the Summer Olympics in London.
Many athletes, including Phelps, were seen wearing the headphones despite efforts by the IOC to prevent ambush marketing.
