Choke. Gag. Vomit. That’s about all I could do after reading a statement from FINA praising Michael Phelps’ “apology” for smoking pot.
As a citizen, Michael Phelps displayed inappropriate behaviour. But his sincere regret and the promise that such a situation will not happen again are sufficient guarantees that this great star will continue generating respect and appreciation to all fans of our sport around the globe.
Phelps has been the butt of jokes and pithy headlines (my favorite was the NY Post’s ‘Pot O’ Gold’) since a photo of him taking a bong hit was splashed across newspapers and the internet. His bullshit apology was the latest in a long, well-documented line of apologies that really should read like this:
I’m sorry I got caught. I was having fun and I didn’t think anyone was watching. If I can get away with it, I’d do it again. But I’m really sorry I got caught. Please forgive me, because even though I’m not really sorry about what I did, getting caught could cost me millions of dollars. Special thanks to my publicist for writing this for me.
Of course FINA buys it hook, line and sinker. Phelps is their biggest star EVER. They need him. So, when he gets caught doing something else (he already ‘apologized’ for drunk driving four years ago and said nothing like it would ever happen again), watch for another kiss-ass statement from the folks at FINA.
on Feb 5th, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Smoking pot is NOTHING like driving under the influence… so he was right (so far) when he said nothing like it would happen again.
on Feb 5th, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Depending on how much he smoked and depending on the potency of the pot and depending on if he got behind the wheel (three factors we don’t know), this could be very much like driving under the influence. And just because he’s not been caught driving under the influence doesn’t mean he hasn’t. I don’t like the idea of prosecuting him based on this picture but Phelps doesn’t have a whole lot of credibility in this area.
on Feb 5th, 2009 at 12:07 PM
The kid is a kid… he spent his adolescence working for the Gold and the country and now he’s cutting loose… so what! If this is news then I feel terrible for all of us. This story ranks right next to Jessica Simpson’s weight gain… it’s all crap.
on Feb 5th, 2009 at 8:17 PM
Message to all you high and mighty soapboxers out there: Get off your high horses, already! I am going to guess that in our lifetime, we have all done something far worse than this kid has done. Most of us won’t end up in the news over it.
on Feb 5th, 2009 at 9:40 PM
Mike just got suspended for 3 months and lost his Kellogg’s cereal endorsement.