Updated : Michael Phelps has come a long way since my original post of 2009. I give credit for his awakening. Scroll to the bottom for his latest interview on NBC Today.
He spoke of the 2009 bong picture here in 2012:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l35nC0jVNuk[/embedyt]
When I first published this article in 2009, this great American hero was apologizing as he was photographed inhaling on a bong with college students, just months after his second record-breaking swimming streak.
A hero to so many, especially the children, Michael Phelps is no hero in this house. Last time he won medals, he was caught drunk driving at only 19 years of age. He apologized then as well. Forgive the first time. It was called a stupid teenage mistake. The ignorance of youth. This time he again chalks it up to childish behavior, even though he is in his twenties.
So what. No big deal, he was smoking pot. Who cares? I care. He was a role model to children. He had a moral obligation to behave accordingly. How about the family friendly companies that paid him millions in endorsement deals? His poor mother who sacrificed so much to bring him so far. But worse yet, she is a school Principal that must face her students with this. How can she tell them to behave, do well, stay out of trouble, when her son at the top of his game has fallen to the ground? How could he humiliate his greatest fan in this public manner? He is quoted as saying how hard it was for him to know how he hurt his mother. Did this not occur to this MAN when he chose to accept the bong?
It I was her, I would use this as a lesson to teach the children at my school. I would stand tall and proud, and speak the truth. Not only did her son make a foolish choice, but he also took many people with him. Michael Phelps does not just represent Michael Phelps when he is out in public. He represents his sisters, his mother, the companies that use his face, and the children that look up to him. Not to mention the teammates that walk a clean walk and do not dabble in drugs or alcohol. I do not doubt that with this new publication of marijuana a further investigation will come to light for possible steroid use. The way he was holding that bong tells even those of us who have never dabbled in drugs that this was not the first time.
Today, Mr. Phelps is a grown man. He is solely responsible, and yet once again, he makes the choice to get behind the wheel drunk and speeding. He is sorry. So very sorry. I am sorry. He needs help. Today.
What’s that you say? Too high a standard of excellence we require of our athletes? I would disagree. Mr. Phelps could have won his medals, and gone back to John Q. Public. But he did not. He savored the victory and all of the accolades that come with it. He chose to accept endorsements, and chose to accept the title of “Great American Hero.” With that comes responsibility.
Forgive me, Mr. Phelps. I do not accept your apology for a blatant act of stupidity, not to mention yet another act of breaking the law. I don’t want my only son to admire you. I don’t want my daughters to swoon. It seems when the pool lights go out, you leave the values your hard-working mother taught you in the puddles on the deck.
Call me when you are the spokesman for D.A.R.E. or MADD. When you truly hold yourself accountable for your stupid actions, then and only then will I consider the possibility that being the most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 22 medals is worthy of being called “hero.” Not today. #sorrynotsorry
UPDATE: 2017 Michael Phelps has come along way in his journey. Here he is with Meghan Kelly.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao4fEglWqms[/embedyt]