USA Swimming Suspends Michael Phelps

[Jake]

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Michael Phelps has been suspended from competition for three months by USA Swimming, the latest fallout from a photo that showed the Olympic great inhaling from a marijuana pipe. The sport's national governing body also cut off its financial support to Phelps for the same three-month period, effective Thursday.

"This is not a situation where any anti-doping rule was violated, but we decided to send a strong message to Michael because he disappointed so many people, particularly the hundreds of thousands of USA Swimming member kids who look up to him as a role model and a hero," the federation said in a statement.

"Michael has voluntarily accepted this reprimand and has committed to earn back our trust."

Phelps won eight gold medals in Beijing.

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[nick-8318]

3 months is nothing but its a good message i suppose. Kids will still look up to him

Although I don't think he should be punished,,,,,,The only mistake he did was not look around to see if someone was taking a picture.

 

[~ The 34 Year Buzz!!]

...It does not diminish his accomplishments @ all imo....

Agreed, he's been working hard since he was a little kid.
The guy deserves to party a bit.

 

[GF]

All over some stupid bong rips. Seriously?

I've never tried weed (or any other drug for that matter) but this is ridiculous.

-Galel

 

[Chef Patrick]

All over some stupid bong rips. Seriously?

I've never tried weed (or any other drug for that matter) but this is ridiculous.

-Galel

I will ditto that Galel, I have never treed anything myself.

This guy is an idiot, he deserves everything they can do to him.

 

[Mike]

Typical U.S behavior - overemphasize the stance on something that's disbursed as medical remedy to patients in chronic pain and legal in some countries, but leave guns in everyone's hands.
I wonder, what's doing more damage?
I think this country has bigger worries than publicly reprimanding the most successful Olympian in U.S history.

M.

For the record: I've never touched any illegal substance.

 

[Travis]

Who is an idiot Chef? Are you saying that one of the greatest olympians of all time is an idiot?

Non ditto. I smoke a lot I guess, however here is my point:

The guy has spent many years training extensively, so he deserves to have a little fun. He volunteered to take more intrusive drug tests while training for the Olympics. What he achieved was completely legal. He currently is in his off time, so why would this matter? Give him a break.

 

[Domainace]

Nope. He makes an excellent living by being a public figure, and there's a cost to that. Once you brand your reputation, you don't get any slack for marring that reputation. If they found a gram of cow dung in your favorite brand of milk, would you cut them any slack? Same thing here. If he wants a career that isn't affected by things like this, he should get a job in a supermarket. Or become a domainer!

So, no particular sympathy for the guy. Peewee Herman sure didn't get any.

 

[Travis]

Nope. He makes an excellent living by being a public figure, and there's a cost to that. Once you brand your reputation, you don't get any slack for marring that reputation. If they found a gram of cow dung in your favorite brand of milk, would you cut them any slack? Same thing here. If he wants a career that isn't affected by things like this, he should get a job in a supermarket. Or become a domainer!

So, no particular sympathy for the guy. Peewee Herman sure didn't get any.

However, no one is perfect. You can't expect someone to go completely by the book just because he is and athlete. He did what he was supposed to while swimming. This was during his time off. Why should he suffer for finally having fun? He has been swimming in the Olympics since he was 15. He really hasn't had much time to live like a normal person in these days. Did you ever drink alcohol while it was illegal at your age? Same thing. Marijuana is a naturally grown plant. Why is that bad? If he had been caught with a needle in hand, it would be a completely different story.

 

[Domainace]

Travis, it's bad because it is seen as bad. That's all. It wasn't bad for me when I was his age because I was a slacker, and it was expected. What was anybody gonna do, take away my house-painting job?

I got busted for pot when I was 16, and I remember my step-mother yelling at me, "It's not wrong that you smoke weed. It's wrong that you got caught." She was not the brightest bulb, and I thought that she was full of it for saying that.

But over the years, I got her point. It's 1000 times truer in this kid's case. He worked his ass off to get where he is. But, since swimming doesn't produce anything of value except entertainment, he has to maintain whatever image is expected of him. That's what comes with being so high profile.

Do you think Obama would get away with it if a picture showed him smoking a bong in the Oval Room? Of course not.

How about Joe the Plumber? Or Uncle Ray at the gas station? Probably.

The difference is his position. He's not perfect, but he's paid well to at least take a good stab at faking it.

 

[zephyrus]

Its a sad thing, but I don't really on to any of that stuff, nor have tried it before in my 25 years of life. Lets just say I have never yet tried it before.

 

[Chef Patrick]

Who is an idiot Chef? Are you saying that one of the greatest olympians of all time is an idiot?

He is not that great of an Olympian if he can't sustain his image as a roll model for our children and country.

 

[Mike]

He is not that great of an Olympian...

You gotta be kidding me ... You cannot possibly be serious.

Tons of American athletes have been caught doping, others with criminal offenses, heavy drug use, verbally discriminating offenses, etc., yet, the public gets bent out of shape over something like this?!
He's an incredible athlete, but also still a kid. As it's expected, kids make bad choices at times - the punishment doesn't fit the "crime".
The media goes as far as tying the recent incident to his DUI from 4 years ago, looking for a pattern. (ESPN)
Wake up America - if Phelps hitting the pipe is of major concern to our society, maybe the recession is just a fluke.

M.

 

[tcw]

I completely agree with Mike.

I would rather see a professional athlete smoking marijuana (a "drug" that should be legalized) than see an athlete doping and cheating.

Look at 85% of the NBA committing crimes on the daily and kids look up to them more than a swimmer (due to the greater popularity of basketball).

Or a large percentage the MLB juicing up but that brings less controversy than marijuana...

Phelps is not losing his major sponsorship from Speedo and others. He would most definitely be in more PR trouble if he was caught on the roids.

The fact is that he is human and deserves recognition for accomplishing more than anyone else in Olympic history rather than ridicule for simply partaking in some weekend fun.

 

[Chef Patrick]

You gotta be kidding me ... You cannot possibly be serious.

Tons of American athletes have been caught doping, others with criminal offenses, heavy drug use, verbally discriminating offenses, etc., yet, the public gets bent out of shape over something like this?!
He's an incredible athlete, but also still a kid. As it's expected, kids make bad choices at times - the punishment doesn't fit the "crime".
The media goes as far as tying the recent incident to his DUI from 4 years ago, looking for a pattern. (ESPN)
Wake up America - if Phelps hitting the pipe is of major concern to our society, maybe the recession is just a fluke.

M.

My opinion is this...which I'm allowed to have

If you are an athlete, especially an Olympian then your image is the most important thing you have. So yes, if you are found doing illegal drugs, criminal activities and so forth they should be punished.

On the flip side, there are some cases that I can understand certain activities. If a stupid fan starts a fight with an athlete then they should be able to defend themselves. Also, a tough subject is the all the publicity of doping and steroids. Not that I condone this in ANY way but I can understand the pressure to be better. There should be some sort of punishment but not to the extent of them misbehaving for no reason, beating their wives or using illegal drugs for recreational purposes.

I won't say another word, this can go back and forth for a few days.

 

[GF]

Wake up America - if Phelps hitting the pipe is of major concern to our society, maybe the recession is just a fluke.

Bingo.

Phelps is too young to be a role model for kids. He's a kid himself! He's going to screw up again, because that's what young people do... Screw up. It's life. He's too young to understand the HUGE role that he has to America's youth.

What Phelps did was stupid, but come on - I thought we're dealing with an economy on the verge of "collapse" :lol:

I wonder if the CEO of AIG, Bank of America, and others are hitting the bong lately...

 

[johname]

He probally trys to "act normal" around his friends, then one snaps a pic.

 

[Domainace]

He probally trys to "act normal" around his friends, then one snaps a pic.

I think those quote marks belong around the word "friends."

I don't think people are overreacting to this - that's just the impression that one gets from the media, who will do anything to avoid reporting important news. He's a kid who screwed up the way all kids do. He broke the rules. No big deal either way. Organizations should have rules, right?

It really shouldn't be a major news story. I mean, America is fading faster into history day by day, and this is what's on the front page?

 

[Ross]

You would be amazed at who smokes pot from time to time.... Your favorite music star? Prolly. Your favorite athlete? Prolly does it or has done it. Your kid in college? Almost certain.

People really need to open their eyes about this stuff. If anything it should be alcohol that is illegal IMO.

 

[firefly]

LOL...Over reaction Much!!?

He's a kid...let him make kid mistakes for christ sake. That's how we learn...By our mistakes.

As for him being a role model, well...that's how screwed up our society truly is. He's just a kid with a particular talent that has world wide exposure, not the second coming.

Sports stars, movie stars, and alike shouldn't be what our children should be modelling themselves on anyway. That starts at home with the parents...they should be a childs true role model.

Teachers, firefighters, police, scientisits that make great medical breakthroughs should be role models. Not someone who can swim fast or dribble a ball well. It's just ridiculous. Especially when most of them are still just kids basically themselves.

Admire them for their exceptional talents...Yes!

Make them the center of what you consider to be right and wrong and worship them....ridiculous.

Besides, if the parents have done a good enough job being role models, their children will take this for what it is...a kid making a mistake and learning a valuable lesson.