Another Olympic athlete has been caught with what seems to be an illegal substance in his body.  After winning an amazing and well-documented 14 Olympic gold medals, a photo of this American swimmer taking a huge rip off a marijuana bong has been made public by British tabloid, News of the World.  With his millions of adoring fans baffled, the Phelps camp quickly released a remorseful statement that didn’t challenge the validity of the picture taken while he was visiting the University of South Carolina in November. 

            In response to the proof that Phelps likes to take part in illegal drug activity he said through an agent, “I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment.  I'm 23 years old and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again.”

            With that, he is hoping that this, his latest law-breaking blunder won’t cost him some endorsements that put so many zeros on his paychecks.  Hopefully, this hero to so many kids will no longer be subliminally telling them that he smokes weed with his Wheaties and that Speedo makes a new swimsuit that has a hidden pocket for your dime bag.  “The Boys in Blue never search THERE! And it keeps your papers dry no matter how many hours in the pool!” 

            To get the obvious point out of the way; the worst part about this picture is that it appears to catch Phelps engaging in illegal activity that he sort of admits to.  This is his second misdemeanor that many think threatens some of his deals as the face of major companies.  The fact that he’s smoking weed will only devastate the lives of kids that didn’t have much of an actual role model to look up to in their personal lives.  Once Phelps became their surrogate that could do no wrong, they became bound for disaster anyway. 

            The interesting part of this story is how it will be perceived when people look at Michael Phelps.  There is paranoia in this country about marijuana and the people that use it.  Everyone knows that it has negative effects on its staunchest users, but the social implications are the ones that we pay attention to.  I don’t think Michael Phelps will endure too much of a public or economic bashing outside of the anonymous internet comedians and late night shows cracking some jokes at his expense.  When it comes to smoking weed, Michael Phelps did it in the most non-threatening way.  When stories are reported of an NFL or NBA player being caught with possession of marijuana, the image that comes to mind is of a person sitting lazily on his couch smoking a joint, wasting his life away…we see a loser criminal.  Phelps’ index finger and thumb weren’t squeezed tightly around the end of a joint; our Olympic golden boy was caught taking a hit off a bong. 

            This is the look of a normal 23 year-old party kid that had a little too much fun at a frat party on campus.  The bong shot is negative, but not any more harmful than seeing him chug a beer in the middle of chanting friends.  We elected a President in George W. Bush that openly admitted to indulging in alcohol in his past.  We can get beyond a harmless drinking binge that includes a couple of fun-loving bong hits.  That’s not real weed he’s sucking on like a fiend, is it?  That bong thing is so much fun! 


--JJJ

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