Update:  Shaun White has apologized for his poor behavior at a Nashville Hotel.  “I want to apologize for the unwise choices I made over the weekend and for any inconvenience it caused my family, friends, business partners, the hotel and their guests,”  He was released on his own recognizance.

Olympic Snowboarder, Shaun White faces charges of vandalism and public intoxication.  Apparently he destroyed a phone and pulled the fire alarm in a Nashville hotel forcing the guests to evacuate.  He was supposedly stopped from leaving the scene by a hotel guest who told the cab driver that police have been dispatched.  In his attempt to flee, he apparently hit his face on a fence.  I wasn’t there but that black eye looks like it was sustained from a punch, not a fence, but so be it.  When reading this story the first thing that comes to mind is what the heck is he thinking?  The kid has become a multimillionaire off his snowboarding and skateboarding and now has a clothing line.  But on second thought, it makes perfect sense.  The bad boy, long hair, no care in the world way of life is part of his persona.  It’s no different than the rapper being arrested for gun possession.  It fits the image and the image is what has led to his fame and fortune.  Sooner than later, the women’s Olympic gymnastic team will be forgotten until the next Olympics.  But White has managed to stay relevent and in the spotlight since his first Olympic gold medal in 2006.  So is a little hotel room trashing and public intoxication going to hurt his image?  Absolutely not.  In fact it will help him with his bad to the bone, all I need is my board, booze and women image.  So it’s actually a pretty good piece of PR for the kid who single-handedly revolutionized the sport of snowboarding.