Tom Daley Gay Rumors: Diver Goes Back to School, Gets Straight As

Culture

As the London Olympics come to an end, and the most popular Olympians stretch the aura of fame and immortality that their historic performances lent them (some modeling, some in reality television) the majority of these young athletes will go back to school. 

Such is the case of British diver Tom Daley who, after winning bronze in the diving competition and receiving congratulations from the likes of One Direction and David Beckham, returned to the classrooms of Plymouth College to take “A-level honors” in Spanish, Photography and “Maths.” 

Daley tweeted, "I got an A in Spanish! Overall I have A* photography (A2), A Spanish (A2) and A maths (AS) :) thanks PlymColleg1 :D." To which the school replied, "Brilliant, well done. A nice addition to your Olympic bronze medal!"

Without trying to take credit away from Daley’s academic performance, the friendly Twitter exchange between the now larger-than-life British figure and the educational institution seems to break the protocol of educational institutions. This also could prompt skepticism from other, less famous, students.

Rumors about high performing athletes who are given some extra help in the grades department are not new. North Carolina is investigating how what appears to be a transcript for former football star Julius Peppers (whose dominance on the field at North Carolina translated into lottery-pick riches when he was chosen No. 2 overall by the Panthers in 2002) surfaced on the university's website (the school said it has removed the link and that it couldn't discuss confidential student information covered by federal privacy laws).   

The link showed Peppers received some of his highest grades in classes in the Department of African and Afro-American Studies (AFAM). A school investigation has since found fraud and poor oversight in 54 AFAM classes between summer 2007 and summer 2011. 

But that doesn't have to be the case with Daley, as the diver can well be a disciplined athlete in addition to a good student -- who also happens to have time to hang with David Beckham.