Phelps Using Pot Pipe

[Kite]

http://cbs4denver.com/sports/Michael.Ph ... 23783.html

Olympic great Michael Phelps acknowledged "regrettable" behavior and "bad judgment" after a photo in a British newspaper Sunday showed him inhaling from a marijuana pipe.

It was on November 6, weeks after his Beijing triumph, that 23-year-old Phelps surprised students at the University Of South Carolina in Columbia by showing up unannounced at a house party, reports News of the World. It was at that party that Phelps was snapped inhaling from a bong, or marijuana pipe.

You guys think they might take away his medals?

[Andrew]

I guess anything's possible but they shouldn't. The incident took place after the Olympics and unless his tests from the Olympics are positive for a banned substance there's no reason why subsequent recreational drug use should have any bearing on the medals or records he's already won. I could see him being held off future Olympic teams but people have made bigger mistakes and been given second chances, so it would be unfortunate if they decided to do that. I don't advocate marijuana use myself but if someone chooses to partake in a situation like that then that's their business. I find the actions of papparazzi and the intent to ruin his career more reprehensible than Phelps smoking pot at a party.

[Oznogrd]

The actual rules are while you're on a US Olympic Commitee run team is: Any sort of doping violation out of competition and any amount is a 2 year suspension. However im sure theres loopholes and appeals and what not MIchael can make so he can get it down to less time if any. 2 of the guys on the paralympic team got busted with weed 2 weeks before beijing but they still were allowed to go due to some fine print. Odds are Phelps will get the mandatory minimum from being "Team USA" but nothing more.

And how shitty do you have to be to fuck a guy over like that? Im not saying he's right, but somebodys pretty sleazy taking a picture of him doing that and selling it. The repercussions werent exactly gonna be a "private" matter.

[Andrew]

If that's the case then I guess that rules him out of the next world championships but would still leave him eligible for the 2012 games. His career continues, action is taken so that the rules mean something and the incident should blow over in time.

And how shitty do you have to be to fuck a guy over like that? Im not saying he's right, but somebodys pretty sleazy taking a picture of him doing that and selling it. The repercussions werent exactly gonna be a "private" matter.

My thoughts exactly.

[Oznogrd]

If that's the case then I guess that rules him out of the next world championships but would still leave him eligible for the 2012 games. His career continues, action is taken so that the rules mean something and the incident should blow over in time.

And how shitty do you have to be to fuck a guy over like that? Im not saying he's right, but somebodys pretty sleazy taking a picture of him doing that and selling it. The repercussions werent exactly gonna be a "private" matter.

My thoughts exactly.

Saw some updates today: weed is only a USA team thing, not a World Doping Agency thing. So he may get off pretty free. Several sponsors have already come out and said they will still support him. Which makes me wonder: Why the special treatment? There are some endorsements like of NBA players if an image like this came out, even being the best player in the league they'd lose their deals in an instant. Is it because he's just that good for the sport? Is it some racial/ethnic thing? Or is it just the country is finally starting to say boys will be boys on some issues? (not that thats a good thing)

[Andrew]

It depends on the severity of the incident I guess. From the USA team's point of view, they'd be losing one of their best swimmers over what is a fairly minor indiscretion and from the sponsors point of view they'd be cutting ties with someone they can make money from over something that a lot of people probably don't care about and will blow over in time. He hasn't been charged with a serious crime and he seems to be handling damage control fairly well.

If it were something more serious, like the rape allegations made against Kobe Bryant back in 2003, then I'm sure the sponsors would be backing away as quickly as possible. It's a dangerous double standard to say if you're good enough at a sport then you can get away with anything so long as it isn't too serious but to compare it to a more everyday profession, if you worked in an office doing whatever and you got really drunk at a private gathering on a day you weren't working (and weren't working the next day, either) and it got back to your bosses, there's no way you should be fired or reprimanded. Things change when you're in the public eye of course but it's unfair that their careers should suffer simply because they succumbed to a human vice.

[shadowgrin]

All Phelps got is a 3-month suspension from swimming and a loss of sponsor in Kelloggs. The suspension will be over by the time the world championship starts

[Oznogrd]

All Phelps got is a 3-month suspension from swimming and a loss of sponsor in Kelloggs. The suspension will be over by the time the world championship starts

See i'm personally surprised kelloggs dropped him. How great could a munchie needing Phelps wanting corn pops in a commercial be?

[Patr1ck]

Several sponsors have already come out and said they will still support him. Which makes me wonder: Why the special treatment?

Because they own bongs.

[Andrew]

I think it's fair enough, given there were no criminal charges. Phelphs brought the situation on himself, he certainly didn't have to make that choice but I still think selling a photo like that to the tabloids just to take someone down in the name of a quick buck is pretty sleazy. It's odd how society kind of accepts the practices of papparazzi and the tabloids and the focus is on what a celebrity is doing in their private lives, not the low act of snooping that's going on.