Triple Olympic gold medal winner, Stephanie Rice, who tweeted: ''Suck on that faggots!'' after the Australian Wallabies last-minute Tri Nations win over South Africa on Sept 5, attracted public condemnation and promptly lost her Jaguar sponsorship after her outburst. She has been made to return her A$100,000-plus (US$93,000) XF vehicle.

Swimmer Stephanie Rice, 22, won both individual medleys at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was part of Australia's victorious 4x200 freestyle team. At a press conference in Sydney, she explained her comments were out of character and not intended to offend. "I owe it to those who I have offended to publicly say I am sorry," she said. "I am not a person who judges others or speaks in a way that hurts others. It is not me to give offence to other people no matter who they are." Read more.

The 22-year-old swimmer tweeted in the same message which was later deleted: "Probs the best game I've ever seen!! Well done boys."

She has since made a tearful public apology last Wednesday for her comment on Twitter, saying her words were thoughtless but not meant to offend.

"I made a comment on Twitter on Saturday night in the excitement of the moment. I did not mean to cause offence and I apologise," she wrote in a blog on her website.

Former National Rugby League star and gay rights advocate Ian Roberts called her comments "inexcusable".

"It's a hurtful, spiteful, hatred-inciting comment," he said on 3AW radio. Roberts, possibly the most prominent national sportsmen in Australia to come out as gay in 1995, called Rice a complete idiot and called on her sponsors to dump her.

According to the Herald, Rice reportedly earns A$800,000 in endorsements from Davenport, SunRice, Speedo and Telstra. Davenport was reportedly released a statement saying it did not condone Rice's comment but made no announcement about withdrawing its support for her.

Using his own Twitter account, openly gay Olympic gold medallist and diver Matthew Mitcham said Rice's comments were "offensive and thoughtless", but he knew his friend of two years was not a homophobe.

"She luvs gays but used very ill-chosen language," Mitcham tweeted. "I agree, it was offensive & very thoughtless, but being friends with her for 2yrs, I know she is not homophobic."

"She meant no malice, & she has apologised for her careless comment posted in the excitement of the moment", he wrote. "That's enough for me to forgive a friend."

Mitcham, also 22, also added that the furore surrounding Rice's comments was "a wake up call" to parts of society "that they can easily offend without meaning to, eg. that's so gay".

Gary Burns, a prominent gay rights activist has said that even though Rice’s anti-gay slur was offensive, it did not warrant the “hysterical” reaction it got. 

Burns, who has previously taken legal action against a series of high profile Australians over what he claimed were homophobic comments, said the swimmer was being persecuted unfairly. 

“What I am concerned about is that she has lost her Jag sponsorship, which is really unfair, because there are people out there that are on this witch-hunt to destroy this girl,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him as saying. 

“I deal with people who I believe publicly vilify homosexuals… but what Stephanie Rice did was make a mistake. She apologised for that mistake, but I now believe people are using her as a wedge. 

“Yes, it is offensive, but it is not vilification, it is not hatred,” he added.

Should sponsors stick by Stephanie Rice since she has apologised?