Is Phelps getting the shaft?

Just wondering what folks think?

If some kid decides to do pot just because Michael Phelps does it, then that kid is an idiot.

Who cares if he had a smoke, he's a 23 year old kid who used to live in Ann Arbor.  I've lived in Ann Arbor for five years and let's just say no one around here is exactly surprised.

He's definitely getting the shaft in terms of public reaction, no one deserves to be treated so negatively just for smoking a bong. While I'm definitely mad about the media reaction, I sure won't be shedding a tear for Phelps whose net worth is somewhere around $40-$50 million. 

That's glorious part about being a major role model, by the time you get to that point, you've probably already made enough money to not have to give a damn about what people think of you.

He is good at swimming....how does that make him a rolemodel? Other than working really hard for something he wanted?

He smoked pot....OH MY GOD? who cares? there are SOOOOOOOOOO many people who do the same (and if he were from another country, this wouldnt even be an issue, because its legal). It would be like throwing the book at him if he drank before he was 21.....

Basically, people just LOVEEE to gossip. Media knows that it will sell papers / magazines / get viewers....so they are happy to exploit everything to the fullest (even if it means unfairly ruining someone reputation or career).

People really need to get better rolemodels...not just who is really tall and can play basketball or who is a really good swimmer....but *shrug* thats the society we live in.... and, that misplaced idolization is why we arent losing so much power so quickly :) A country that becomes so "holy" that they cant even live up to their own ideal standards hahaha

I agree its no big deal. But he should have used his head especially if he was at a party where he didn't know everyone. If I had millions in endorsements I would certainly not let my guard down and risk it all. I hope his real friends find the person who snapped the pic and disown him for life.

I just didn't like his uppity bong.

What's wrong with a good ol' fashion plastic bottle and a piece of your mamma's garden hose?

Original Post by andie-joe:

i think he had a smoke!

any opportunity to take someones glory away from them, he's not sad but the reporters who jumped on this are!

 Agreed andie-joe,  and hey one pic with a bong makes him a "pothead"?  People. this is a 23 year old young man who made a hell of alot more out of himself than any of us will hope to ever get to.  Yes there needs to be a message sent that pot smoking is not what superior atheletes are supposed to be doing. However,  would this have been such a huge deal if he had a bottle of Jack Daniels uo to his mouth?  I am not a pro pot person believe me, but I am an anti media "blow it out of propotion" person.  I am sick of the press going after the economy, the beaten, the elite, the homeless etc... like the whole world wants to watch entertainment tonight to get their news.

Original Post by thmheh:

Nope, he deserves it.  So many people looked up to him, and he totally let the fame go to his head.    

Yeah because fame totally makes you want to smoke pot.

Pot's nice. It makes you feel nice. Pot will not hurt you. Pot is just pot.

Yay for pot I say.

He trains his a** off and all the dude wants is a hit of the good ol green

At the end of the day Michael Phelps is 23 years old, he should be in college smoking a little weed but due to his AMAZING ability to swim, he's not. Instead he's crashing a college party here and there doing what a good number of his peers/friends/buddies are doing.

Personally I thought good for Michael and his apology was BS. Why oh why oh why do people seek to put others with talent on such high pedestals? They are but humans...none of them can be perfect or live up to such standards.

I really could not care less if he hit a bong once or twice.  I think the media made way too much of it, and I feel kind of sorry for him for that.  He's a young kid whose been thrust into the spotlight because he's good at swimming. 

 BUT I don't feel sorry for him for losing one (if not more) sponsorships or contracts.  Unfortunately, when companies are paying you millions of dollars to be their spokesperson, you gotta expect that if you get caught doing something illegal, you are gonna lose some money for it.

Original Post by j9gwen:

Subway just dumped him too, I feel for the guy but come on when you're making that kind of money from endorsments......smoke all you want but you better do it in a closet with no cameras if you want to keep making that kind of money.

 You'd think Subway would keep him. Think of the people that emulate him that might just get the munchies....

I think people are overreacting.

Also I think pot's detractors may be a tad uncomfortable with the fact that here's a guy who seems to know his way around a bong and yet STILL has managed to excel in his chosen field, beyond what everyone has done so far...could it be that maybe...just maybe? Pot use does not = instantly ruined life as they'd like to claim it does?

i feel bad for the guy.  he's worked hard, he's accomplished amazing things, and now he's allowed to relax.

phelps's ADHD is well publicised.  it's possible that he self-medicates.  lots of people with attention deficits find pot very helpful.

he didn't set out to be a role model; he set out to be a swimmer.  if people want to put him on a pedestal, there's not much he can do about it.  not much he can do when they decide to knock him off it, either.

('course, that doesn't mean i think that most people can smoke chronically and still be highly successful.  i don't.)

Original Post by pgeorgian:

i feel bad for the guy.  he's worked hard, he's accomplished amazing things, and now he's allowed to relax.

 

 meh, i dont know what amazing things he accomplished...he swims fast....he isnt saving lives or inventing new things to help advance society ><

well he's certainly a disappointment next to you, lorik {rolls eyes}.

Original Post by pgeorgian:

well he's certainly a disappointment next to you, lorik {rolls eyes}.

 I do things!!

Yes, he's a role model but he's not paid to be a role model. He's a swimmer, plain and simple. You would be surprised of the things that your "role models" are doing behind closed doors. They just havent been caught... yet.

Original Post by j9gwen:

Subway just dumped him too, I feel for the guy but come on when you're making that kind of money from endorsments......smoke all you want but you better do it in a closet with no cameras if you want to keep making that kind of money.

That's really weird because every Subway I've been to had a bunch of hippies working there.

I hate this story! It makes me mad because they drag this out and make a big deal about it, as if it somehow makes him a bad person. He's still one of the greatest athletes in history.

Original Post by jewelsmcblah:

Original Post by j9gwen:

Subway just dumped him too, I feel for the guy but come on when you're making that kind of money from endorsments......smoke all you want but you better do it in a closet with no cameras if you want to keep making that kind of money.

That's really weird because every Subway I've been to had a bunch of hippies working there.

 True.  I've pretty much seen the same thing in the subways here, too.  But the fact remains that the people in the corporate offices are the ones making the decisions...not the hippies in the restaurant down the street.  And the people making the decisions probably don't want to endorse someone who breaks the law...and, like it or not, smoking pot is still against the law.

Right, I understand the why.  But looking at it from an "company image" perspective I find it ironic. 

I guess if worse comes to worse Phelps can get at job at Subway.