Still Delicious? Will Serena's Outburst Effect Her Nike Sponsorship?

There has been a lot of talk about Serena's tantrum over the weekend. The tennis queen showed an ugly side has overshadowed the once positive smiling depiction of herself.

After her Doubles win with her sister, Venus, Serena was fined and suspended from the US Open.

Just a week before the incident Nike Women release their advertisements of Serena as the spokesperson for their Delicious Training campaign.

In the ad we see a smiling, dancing and happy Serena in a sky blue sports bra and red shorts working out with a medicine ball. A different picture from last weekend.

A debate has been raging on whether a severer punishment should have been given. With all this negative commentary, one wonders if Nike will pull from its campaign.

Fan uproars have caused other celebrities to lose sponsorship. For example, Michael Phelps lost his Kellogg sponsorship after his bong party photo leaked to the press.

On a complete different plane, R&B singer Chris Brown lost his Doublemint sponsorship after the controversy with Rihanna.

While Serena's actions were determined to be neither illegal or violent, judgment of her actions has been scrutinized.

Punishments for athletes and celebrities have always been an issue. As viewers do we forget that they are human? Therefore it is possible for them to be susceptible for human error, or do we feel that because of their high-profile status they deserve to be put in their place?

To look at Serena's Delicious Training ad, visit the Nike Women site: http://www.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikewomen/en_US/calendar#?year=2009&month=9&date=2