Let me start by saying that I have only ever had two tokes off a marijuana joint, and do not condone smoking it.
And now, Olympic swimming hero Michael Phelps is embroiled in controversy over a photo of him apparently taking a drag off a bong. The photo was taken at a party and sold to the British tabloid News of the World.
Kellogg's has decided not to renew the contract to have Phelps on its cereal boxes, because he now doesn't match the image it wishes to portray. Fair enough, I guess.
The hypocrisy comes from USA Swimming, which has just suspended him for three months, and from anyone who criticizes Phelps.
Come on, people! He's 23 years old. How many guys his age DON'T take the occasional toke? He's human. For all we know, it's the first time he's ever taken a drag off a bong. Either way, why does this make him a bad role model for younger people? Why should he even be a role model for them? Don't his accomplishments and the sacrifices he made on the way to Olympic history speak loudly enough forthemselves in role model terms? Does USA Swimming really think he's the only athlete to ever get into a competitive pool who has smoked pot? Hypocrisy and naivete, if that's the case.
What do you think?
14 comments:
he's successful.. they have to find a way to bring him down.
I think they should leave the kid alone.
Let his momma take care of him by giving him a slap across the noggin'. Then we and he can just carry on.
A&J: So right. That's just sick, that whenever anyone gains some success, some a-hole has to try to bring them down.
Like it or not, if you're a star athlete getting paid zillions for product endoresement, you have to be squeaky clean. And yes, they are role models. You don't get to have indiscretions and mistakes -- that's the price you pay for fame and fortune. Any celebrity can tell you that. I don't feel sorry for him. Yes, it's what a lot of young people do, but a lot of young people don't get paid to be in the public eye. Choose.
THANK
YOU!
What the HELL is all the fuss about. 23 years old fer keerists sake. Give the boy some slack! It's not like he bit the heads of kittens or killed his parents or something and this notion that 'role models' must be perfect is a big old pile of horse shit... what makes a role model a role model is not the money they earn, or their celebrity stature. Heroes are humans that do extraordinary things. They excel. They inspire. but at the end of the day they are ALL human. And Aside from a very few that I can think of Gandhi, the Dali Llama, Mother Theresa... show me one that doesn't have at least one skeleton in his closet, or made one bad choice or mistake... after all THAT is how we KNOW we are human. If WE expect to be forgiven for OUR mistakes we must be willing to forgive theirs... and I don't recall him spending his life til now to be a role model, or hero, he simply has been following the talent that he has been given and that's a freakishly incredible swimmer...
WV: atwit (indeed!)
I don't care what kind of pissy mood you're in, Kitty, you RAWK!
Well put. Phelps never asked to be a role model. Besides, smoking grass -- unless it's a frequent habit to leads to bigger and worse things -- does not disqualify him from being a suitable role model.
I'm just glad the criteria for Big Brothers doesn't require a role model to be superhuman, or I never would have met Little Bro Dano.
you are correct, i don't know too many 23 yr olds that haven't smoked pot.
i think that there are no perfect people in the world. if i had a daughter / son that looked up to phelps as a hero, i would simply tell them that 'he made a mistake, weed is not something that you wanna do often'.
get over it people!
http://momofboxer.blogspot.com/2009/02/if-ever-there-was-someone-to-keep-me-at.html
Dear BigBroBong ,
I have never been bonged and I do not condon it . I agree with XUP.That is the price of fame.
Sink or swim ( pun intended ).
ps
HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HAPPY B'DAY, BOB
being a role model is also about how you deal when you get busted for doing something stupid. Ending his swimming career over this is totally insane. I also have a hard time understanding why smoking a little pot is a bigger deal than his 2004 DUI. To me that is WAY worse, and he learnt from that mistake, I think it is safe to assume he is going to learn from this one.
I'm not quite sure how one can say he 'learnt' from his DUI mistake if he's been caught taking a draw off a bong. He obviously DIDN'T learn from the drinking and driving mistake, and I wholehartedly agree with Donna and Chris - He lives a privileged life, and regardless of whether he's a celebrity because he's disgustingly rich and has no talent, like a Paris Hilton, or because he's a gifted athlete who advertisers the world over want to align with their products, he's responsible for staying clean and representing himself with honour, a quality which has become scarce in this world. Whether athletes and celebrities SHOULD be role models is not the issue. Society has made them so. Either accept it, or give back the spoils of your celebrity and lead a life out of the spotlight. If he wants to prove he's an honourable, 'quality' person, he should be going from elementary school to elementary school, and junior high to junior high, and high school to high school - and even college to college - and conducting lectures admitting to his mistake, and strongly advising against it...but not many of the privileged do that sort of thing anymore.
I personally couldn't care less what he does outside of the olympic pool. However, I did get a good laugh when the guy on Fox news called it the "bong hit seen around the world". Maybe the oxygen deprivation under water made him stupid and it never occurred to him not to be photographed doing dumb things? We all do stupid stuff, if we didn't America's Funniest Home Videos wouldn't have been on the air for so long. I say... it's over, leave the kid alone.
Bobby... I weatched and watched and watched the TV but musta missed your exclusive interview with the big O
Grrrrrr, Kitty. I didn't have the Big O. That is to say, the closest we got to interviewing President Obama was his impromptu visit to the Byward Market, about 100 ft. from our front door.
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