Buffalo Boy's Blog
Giving You More Than Just My Two Cents
Phelps Should Not Be Punished
Add me to the list of those who are supporting Michael Phelps after his inopportune photo-op. Im not going to sit here and say that smoking pot is okay, I, like probably 80% of us out there have tried it back in my college days and so to sit here and persecute the guy over a picture that should have never been taken in the first place and certainly should have never been published is insane and unfair to Michael.
Most of us have been there and done that when it comes to taking a huff on a joint or a bong and thats just a fact that we need to deal with.
I am not however going to stick up for the act of doing it. Michael should have been more discreet and if he didn't know the people in the house or where ever he was doing what he was doing, he should have been more careful, instead it came down to a jerkoff photographer looking to make a buck from a publication willing to ruin the life of a big star.
The photographer and the publisher should have known as well. They should have known the ramifications of taking and publishing that photo. If it was a private party or something that wasn't a high profile event then leave Michael alone.
The media also needs to back off and give it a rest. Its a huff on a bong and its not headline news and not an excuse to drag Phelps through the mud.
Phelps is the greatest swimmer of all time, and is idolized by many of the 225,000 registered USA-S swimmers, and that makes him, whether he's 23 or not, a role model for the sport.
That said, he's also brash, cocky, and arrogant. Did you happen to catch his appearance at the post-Beijing swim party? He's a wannabe thug. After Athens it was an under-age DUI and a lame apology. After Beijing it is a photo-op that would make Dr. Dre proud. What's it going to be after London? Is Mikey going to go Plax on us and accidentally pump some lead into one of his albatrossian lat muscles while dancing with strippers at an underground in Sussex?
He doesn't deserve a break. He got his break already. He's no role model for USA Swimming, its swimmers, or any of the 100+ million children in this country. There are far better people in swimming to build the sport around, starting with the anchor of the 400 relay, Jason Lezak, or Aaron Piersol, or Natalie Coughlin, all WR holders and Olympic champions in their own right.
I couldn't stand Phelps in 2004, was not surprised with the DUI, and enjoyed arguing with fellow swimmers and coaches who took umbrage at my distaste for swimming's "golden boy". You can imagine the wry smile on my face when I read the ESPN ticker this past Sunday and then saw the subsequent photos of Mikey doing the chronic in some dude's living room.
Good job MP, way to do us proud. The last hope now is that your mother literally beats some sense into you for this one.
People love to hate the best, especially peers!
Mike from Lowville you're so off-base I can't believe I'm dignifying your comment with a response. He is without a doubt the greatest swimmer of all time. I have all the respect in the world for his swimming ability, dedication to training, and will to do the impossible. Everyone in America, myself included, has watched with jaw-dropped amazement at what he has accomplished.
But he is not a role model. He's shown himself to be childish, cocky, and irresponsible. He needs to grow up and accept the responsibilities he has inherited. Or he can be like many other "best" in sports, admired for their talent but not much else.
Good post, thanks