A couple of friends and I were talking about the Wheaties boxes featuring Patterson, Gatlin, and Phelps. Noticeably absent, of course, was Paul Hamm. I thought it was interesting that one of them said that even if Hamm had won the all-around with no controversy, he wouldn't be an ideal endorsement figure. I asked him why and he said that the public is more accepting of female athletes who display grace and artistry such as female gymnasts and figure skaters. When it comes to male athletes, the public likes to see strength, speed, and endurance such as swimmers, sprinters, and cyclists. He also said that an unfair stigma surrounds male athletes who participate in figure skating, gymnastics, and even diving. I immediately thought of Greg Louganis and Brian Boitano but the gay rumors preceding them years before they participated in the Olympics. He also said that to top it off, Hamm's voice(poor Paul!) can be a turn off for the public. Let's admit it, the first time we heard him speak, we probably all cracked up. But he stressed that it also depends on the company that promotes them and what kind of image they want to project. Still, I think that's an interesting perspective.

Reuters article.

I don't think Hamm lost because of the controversy or his voice. Obviously, Phelps would be chosen because he's the biggest star medal-wise. Given that he's a white male, it seems natural that the others would be non-white and female: Gatlin and Patterson. Also, they'd want to avoid two people from the same sport.

Hamm loses out on diversity because he's in the same sport as Patterson, and is a white male like Phelps.

Seems like much ado about nothing. Why not say Aaron Peirsol was snubbed, since he won two gold medals?

He won three -- two individual, one relay -- so it was even more of a snub. wink

Actually, I agree with you, it's much ado about nothing.

Well, at least Paulie made the cover of Milwaukee Magazine (yes, there is one, and it's actually pretty good, my hometown bias aside, but anyway). The October issue uses his smiling face to plug the annual Best of Milwaukee awards. There's only a brief item on him in it -- alas, not in briefs, not even shirtless wink , but here it is:
Paul Hamm on cover