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Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals at the Olympic games in Beijing this last summer.
Now, thanks to this photo, he might have to give them up.
The image is a photo of Phelps smoking Marijuana from a bong.
According to the poll that I just saw on the local news, 81 percent of the people watching believe that Michael Phelps should be stripped of his gold medals because of this outrage.
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Comments
02.03.09
What really irritated me about the way they announced this story was that they initially said in the headline that Phelps was caught doing drugs. Great. What does that mean?
Steroids? Coke? Baby aspirin?
I knew it was going to be pot. I think a lot of people could have called that one. I brushed it off immediately and went about my business. It's unfortunate that some people can't just let it go.
02.03.09
I bet the people thar want him to give up his medals have accomplished nothing in their own lives and want to take pleasure in taking someone down.
Phelps should stand up to anyone who gives him flack.
02.03.09
Insightful post, Tim, no matter where one stands on the issue.
I don't understand why so many people are demanding Phelps return his medals. Aren't the majority of American Olympic athletes under the legal drinking age? Are we going to start searching for pictures of them with beer bottles and demand they return their medals, too? Is the NCAA going to start going through collegiate athletes' Facebook accounts and demanding all those underage drinkers return their championship rings?
All for the sake of the children...?
Because these athletes are the people who should be teaching American youth about drugs and alcohol...not their parents, right?
02.03.09
I agree with you, it is ridiculous that Phelps should even think about returning his medals. He worked for them, he fought hard, and he won them. He did all of this without the use of enhancement drugs like the majority of athletes in trouble today.
I think the real issue is that he broke the law... I mean it is pretty simple. Phelps worked hard to get into the spotlight. He got there, and when you get to the top you take on a certain amount of responsibility for your actions that normal people don't have to worry about.
No matter what we say, Marijuana is not legal. The Government spends a lot of money "protecting" young people from drugs, and when an American Icon gets caught doing something that many kids are told is the route of all evil, it will become news...
With any luck this will blow over, but thanks to the internet I doubt that will happen very fast. I think the best thing he can do is get on TV and say he is sorry for breaking the law. The end.
02.03.09
Tim - Check out this article titled, "What Michael Phelps Should Have Said."
http://www.reason.com/news/show/131438.html
You'll love it.
02.03.09
What does this have to do with his medals? It has no bearing on how he won them, so why should he return them?
And, what, none of the snowboarding medalists have smoked pot? Please.
02.03.09
I think it's true that people like Phelps become role models, whether they like it or not. And once you've accomplished something that puts you in that role, you have to be more conscientious about your actions. (Flash back to Britney Spears denying that she was a role model to little girls.)
That being said, it is completely ludicrous to say he should give the medals back. It's not like we ask pot-smoking grammy winners to give back their awards. It was illegal. And he got caught. And (even though I agree that pot shouldn't be that big a deal) he should probably face some public punishment for it.
But that has nothing to do with the medals. He still made an amazing accomplishment; anything he does after the fact should have no bearing on that.
02.04.09
Right on. If you don't already know the Marijuana Policy Project (www.mpp.org), check them out. They're doing good work.
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