Michael Phelps

baylian

baylian

Cathlete
I just had to say this ~

What an idiot . . .

Someone my son - and millions of kids - looked up to. It was interesting when my son rolled his eyes when it was mentioned on the tv and then shook his head in disgust.

His mother must be furious - I would be. Like I tell my child "Don't do anything stupid that reflects on us as parents - you will regret it."
 
That is very sad & unfortunate that he made such a mistake! You are excatly right, these althetes have so many kids that look up to them.
What was his reply ? "I made a bad judgement call' Gee, Ya think!?! :mad:
 
I would think it is a sad state of affairs where kids have to look up to athletes and not their parents as their hero. I for my part would not want my kid to idealize someone I don't even know personally, just because they have great athletic accomplishments.

That being said, I don't know what the fuzz is all about. He made a mistake and he admitted it. People seem to forget that he is a young guy. I probably made a ton of mistakes and did stupid things in my youth (which now seems like an eternity ago), just that I didn't have the media jump all over it. Nobody is perfect I guess, not even the sports idols.
 
I understand that he made a mistake but so have many other athletes and they are later forgiven and go on to be great(er). Think of Ray Lewis from the Baltimore Ravens...Kobe Bryant of the Lakers... He is a young kid that did something stupid and was even dumber to have his picture taken. He apologized, said he made a mistake, etc. I don't think his life should be ruined over one dumb choice that didn't hurt anyone but himself. To spin it as a "positive", I think it is a good opportunity for parents to talk to their children about the dangers of drugs! I mean this guy can go from the world is his oyster to used shoe salesmen all because of one hit on a bong!

Carrie
 
I didn't say he was my sons hero. That would actually be his grandfather who just passed away. His Dad is a close second.

I won't respond to the rest other than to say - NO it was not okay.
 
He's human. He's a kid. And apparently he's not that bright to let himself be photographed like this.

That said. Who cares? I don't think he deserves to be crucified like he is. It's not like they found him with a needle in his arm. He smoked pot. Big deal. So have many, many, many, many other people in the world.

He's certainly not the first, nor the last, public figure to have their indiscretions come out for the world to see.

And if we're good parents, it's a perfect opportunity to have or reinforce the no drugs conversation with our kids.
 
I think the only problem here is that he was stupid to do that in public where cameras abound. To think this was his first time is really naïve. It doesn’t send a great message I agree, but it’s just a bong and a lot of the population can relate.

What gets me is when he spent all that time in Vegas right after the Olympics swigging alcohol like it was water and fondly half naked women that didn’t seem to be problematic for anyone.
 
Q. What's the difference between Michael Phelps and 80% of the other 24 year olds in America?

A. He didn't post that picture on his Facebook page himself.
 
Well, without some form of consequence for his actions, it's a little difficult to have that no drug conversations with your kids. In Michaels case, he is being suspended for 3 months, which I think is appropriate. Had they done nothing but just said, "he's a kid, they make mistakes" and slapped him on the wrist, what's the message to the kids that do look up to him? "Don't do drugs! But if you do, no one really cares, because you're just a kid and we all do stupid things." There has to be consequences and I think a little media backlash is just the thing Michael needs right now. He's a big boy, he can handle it and hopefully he'll grow from it. :D
 
fit_fairy said:
80% of 24 year old smoke pot :eek: I didn't have any idea the statistic was that high!!
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It was a made up statistic on my part. Not so much to the pot smoking, but to the fact that a LOT of 18-24 year olds post pictures of themselves (and friends) on Facebook doing really, really, really stupid stuff. So it's not surprising that a photo like that would surface somewhere.

Dang fit_fairy! Now I have go to research stats! ;):D

ITA with others, that if you do the deed, you need to suffer some consequences.
 
The guy clearly isn't the smartest knife in the drawer, but he sure can swim! I don't get why we get so worked up about pot compared to alcohol abuse, which is often much more serious. His DUI is a much bigger offense to me. I've been in an accident with a driver on drugs and that's about the worst thing you can do if you ask me.

That said, he's not the devil--just another kid making dumb mistakes.

Amy
 
Gayle said:
It was a made up statistic on my part. Not so much to the pot smoking, but to the fact that a LOT of 18-24 year olds post pictures of themselves (and friends) on Facebook doing really, really, really stupid stuff. So it's not surprising that a photo like that would surface somewhere.

Dang fit_fairy! Now I have go to research stats! ;):D

ITA with others, that if you do the deed, you need to suffer some consequences.
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Sorry bout that :eek:
 
pixiesis said:
The guy clearly isn't the smartest knife in the drawer, but he sure can swim! I don't get why we get so worked up about pot compared to alcohol abuse, which is often much more serious. His DUI is a much bigger offense to me. I've been in an accident with a driver on drugs and that's about the worst thing you can do if you ask me.

That said, he's not the devil--just another kid making dumb mistakes.

Amy
Click to expand...

Maybe(hopefully) this will be an eye-opening experience for him.
 
Liann said:
Had they done nothing but just said, "he's a kid, they make mistakes" and slapped him on the wrist, what's the message to the kids that do look up to him? "Don't do drugs! But if you do, no one really cares, because you're just a kid and we all do stupid things." :D
Click to expand...

I agree that there have to be consequences, Liann, and there are. He got suspended for 3 months, I haven't heard anything about criminal proceedings.

On the other hand, Michael Phelps didn't ask for anyone to look up to him, he just set his goals and accomplished them. It is the media who made him into superman and parents who tell their kids that they need to be just like him. What we forget that despite of his (and other idealized athlete's) accomplishments he is still human, he is a young kid and he will make mistakes, just like most of us did things in our youth that we are not incredibly proud of.

Going through the no drugs conversations with my almost 13 year old these days I am emphasizing the consequences to himself and his health more than the legal reprecussions because after all, let's face it, anyone who drinks too much, smokes pot or does anything else illegal doesn't think that they get caught anyway, so I am not sure how much of a deterrent that would be anyway. Aside from the fact that I don't think smoking pot is any worse than drinking alcohol. It certainly would warrant a serious conversation for me and yes, appropriate consequences.

I don't think it is warranted that all the parents in this country get all worked up over Michael Phelps not living up to be the role model for THEIR kids!
 
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If young adults and grown adults alike are watching the news then they have been so bombarded in reports of mayors, governors being accused of illegal acts, senators being convicted of illegal acts and lately many of the President’s picks for his admin have tax problems and issues of wrong doing. We even have the President's aunt who is in the US illegally and been told to leave twice but she refuses and is even on federal assistance. And it seems like no one is held accountable for their actions, no one upholds the law unless there is some payback for them.

So after hearing these stories over and over, what young adult is going to grow up respecting anything??
 
He's 24 - hardly a kid. I think by legal definition that is an adult. Many are out of college and working, parenting and being responsible.

And this was not to understate his DUI - it's that he screwed up once before and did it again. However - I don't think he thought he was above the law like others do.
 
He is a complete tool. I can't believe he'd be so stupid. The kid obviously has no common sense. I don't have a problem with a kid his age smoking a bong hit at a fraternity party, but he is living under a microscope and should have known better.
 
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