So apparently the picture of Michael Phelps toking on a bong is real. So what does that mean?
Well, the IOC and his sponsors aren't backing down. They are sticking with the Olympian despite a big P.R. hit. His image in tarnished a bit but this isn't the worst thing ever.
Now, I've never smoked the pot nor do I condone doing it. I do subscribe to the fact that alcohol and cigarettes are legal so weed should be too (or criminalize the other two). It is 2009 and Phelps doesn't seem to be in any gruling training program right now, so let him blow off steam and enjoy the fruits of being a superstar athlete.
Think about the sacrifices he made to get to his level. The things he couldn't eat. The places he couldn't go. The things he couldn't do. The hippie lettuce he couldn't smoke.
It may have given him a bit of street cred as well. I mean, we all know that Phelps 15-minutes have been up for a while and he doesn't hold the kind of carte blanche that Lance Armstrong has (the other mega star from a sport that America rarely follows). While it may make some of the mainstream shy away from him, he may have picked up a few points from the underground.
I hope, though, that Phelps doesn't see this as him being bullet-proof. His body is his temple and moneymaker and I feel he will remember that soon. In this country, there is fine line between being a celebrity for your talents and being a celebrity because you are a train wreck.
Well, the IOC and his sponsors aren't backing down. They are sticking with the Olympian despite a big P.R. hit. His image in tarnished a bit but this isn't the worst thing ever.
Now, I've never smoked the pot nor do I condone doing it. I do subscribe to the fact that alcohol and cigarettes are legal so weed should be too (or criminalize the other two). It is 2009 and Phelps doesn't seem to be in any gruling training program right now, so let him blow off steam and enjoy the fruits of being a superstar athlete.
Think about the sacrifices he made to get to his level. The things he couldn't eat. The places he couldn't go. The things he couldn't do. The hippie lettuce he couldn't smoke.
It may have given him a bit of street cred as well. I mean, we all know that Phelps 15-minutes have been up for a while and he doesn't hold the kind of carte blanche that Lance Armstrong has (the other mega star from a sport that America rarely follows). While it may make some of the mainstream shy away from him, he may have picked up a few points from the underground.
I hope, though, that Phelps doesn't see this as him being bullet-proof. His body is his temple and moneymaker and I feel he will remember that soon. In this country, there is fine line between being a celebrity for your talents and being a celebrity because you are a train wreck.
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