Michael Phelps now suspended by the US Swimming Assoc

[nikki4982]

Subway? As in the sandwich shop that stays open pretty late in most locations? I'd think stoners would be one of their core demographics.

[Neil]

Exactly. But they had a Phelps thingy on their website and its now MIA.

[xjsb125]

Amen on the parenting. If you want to give your children a role model, how about putting yourself out there? Not by demonstrating how much material possession you can accrue in a lifetime, or how much money you can make, or how much education you can obtain. Show them how to live a quality life that makes the most out of all opportunities, demonstrates fairness and compassion, humility and humbleness, understanding and appreciation. Placing so much pressure on them at a young age to fit the mold of someone on TV just drives them down the wrong path, and so many parents just don't get that.

[beautiful liar]

On the role model thing - if whoever gave the images to the media, and the media themselves, respected Phelps' privacy during his off time, children finding out that a respected adult might use illegal intoxicants wouldn't be an issue here. Fine, alert the swimming associations so that they can determine whether he breached any rules (he didn't), but I don't see how this is any of the public's business.

[nikki4982]

It's not. Most of what now gets reported on the news is nobody's business.

But then if it were a non-celebrity, the whole world would be whining about "big brother".

I love double standards.

[Dr. Hobo]

phelps should head over to BC on his spare time and talk to ross Ross Rebliati about this heh.

the IOC has rules against marijuana use and for it being a banned substance because of ross...

of course, he would not have any benefit what so ever by smoking up in his race (nor would phelps but this is the offseason for him) and as such banning it is kindve pointless (the only reason to do so would be the fact it dulls the senses to make for a more dangerous ride given the speeds a snowboarder attains but it is not a performance enhancing drug).

all in all... i think the suspension is a joke as well as the whole issue.

[Lando]

this isn't a situation like celebrity news where it's talking about some actors having kids or their fashion sense. Or how the paparazzi follow them around for no good reason. This is a situation where someone who's a national hero, internationally renowned for his athletic accomplishments from an event that's always taken the best athletes in the world since 1895. So he is a role model for a lot of people, even those who aren't American. Now, what he does in his private life isn't really anyone's business, but people like him have to realize that they are idols for young kids and heroes to many and that to hold that sort of prestige is very very rare and there aren't many people who can be in that position to set a positive example for their nation. So in that respect, he should know better than to do anything that could damage his reputation or the way he's perceived while he's in such an important position.

Is it ridiculous that a non performance enhancing drug is considered illegal by the commission? Probably. I mean, other than a few danger factors DURING competition, such as sand said, for those who are dealing with high speeds.

He's not competing currently either, so even if he was an athlete that dealt with high speeds, he'd be in no danger from using the substance. or maybe he would! does marijuana make people randomly drown!? :O

anyway, as for the person who sold the picture to the press, look at it this way. you'd be offered like a million dollars for that picture. you're either a big michael phelps fan and you either

a) don't want that picture to get out because it will ruin his reputation somewhat, because it deals with something that the public frowns upon from a general point of view. so, if you took the picture, you'd have to be the only one who took such a picture, because if you weren't, anyone who has a different point of view is going to be a millionaire soon.

b) you're the type of person who's a big michael phelps fan and are hurt, upset, let down, disgusted that someone in his position of being able to spread positivity to millions of people would make that sort of decision and you feel they don't deserve to be known as a false hero.

c) don't like michael phelps, don't really care one way or another what he does with his life, but can make yourself rich by exposing a truth about someone who's made a decision that although to most people isn't really a big deal, for a person in his position it was bad judgement.

d) hate michael phelps because he screwed your girlfriend at the last party, then tried to say it was the fat guy passed out on the floor who's been covered in permanent marker... and we both know, even without the marker, the fat guy wasn't going to screw anyone's girlfriend, no matter how drunk she was.

any way I look at it, I can use 1 million dollars and this is more relevant news than Angelina Jolie adopting a homeless man from Peru to pose as her double for public outings, or how Brad Pitt grew a mustache.

so really, if the guy's in his sort of position to spread a positive message and give people hope and turn young people of many nations towards trying to excel at something, avoiding the negative paths such as drug use, gangs, basically whatever negative stuff they could consider if they didn't have role models or people they can idolize like michael phelps, then yeah he made a mistake and should've known better.

I mean, a lot of people can say, "he can do what he wants!", but he can also wait to have fun until he's a bit older and not competing or not a current hero for so many people. when he's older people aren't really going to give a crap what he does and doesn't do because he's not the current olympic champion and not in the same position as he used to be.

[xjsb125]

Is it his responsibility to be a role model to kids? Do you think that status as a role model is unfairly thrust upon him and other celebrities/athletes?

[MindsOnLoan]

It's not like it was his goal to be a role model. That's not what he set out to do. He swims because he loves it, not so parents can tell their kids "That's going to be you someday!" Respecting his talent and prying into details of his personal life are far from the same thing.

[Lando]

Is it his responsibility to be a role model to kids? Do you think that status as a role model is unfairly thrust upon him and other celebrities/athletes?

yeah it is. it might be unfairly given to him, but it's rare for a person to be so dominant at something as he is. I mean, he might swim for himself, because that's what he loves, but it's rare for someone to accomplish what he has, so it is his responsibility to not paint a negative picture for everyone else. I mean with all sorts of fame, whether it be actors, musicians, they can decide to a point how they want to be perceived. sometimes negative press is good for a person's career because it gets people interested in that person again, however, with something like athletics and world record holding in something that people can look up to as an accomplishment, that's far different than a kid saying "I want to be a musician/actor" because that's a career that anyone can do. You might not have the skills to be someone who becomes famous, but that's still a completely separate ball park than an olympic athlete, those who've held prestige since the 1800s.

oh also, they have to realize and are told that they are going to be looked up to because of their positions and because of what they've accomplished. Like the president of the United States for example. Only one person out of millions gets that sort of power. Not the power to lead a nation, but the power 'to have people listen.' You're not going to have a mailman or some guy who works manual labour come in and be able to set the same type of positive example for so many people. No one will listen and even more so, no one will give that person a time to speak to ever say something or do something to show people positive reinforcement for future generations.

[MindsOnLoan]

So your saying it's fair for society to expect someone to be faultless? Because that seems like what people expect of celebrities. No one can please everyone all the time. Everyone has something about them that will anger or disappoint others. Wouldn't this just put more pressure on the kids? To try to live up to the impossible? To try to be virtually faultless? The kids would drive themselve insane or crumble under the pressure.

Besides, kids change their mind about these things all the time. If it was someone who they know and is apart of their lives, then it could be a big deal for them. If it's some celebrity that they've never met, then another great athlete will be their next hero soon enough.

[beautiful liar]

While it's not fair for society to expect anyone to be faultless, people look up to those held in the public eye. While it might not be reasonable, then the actions of those individuals are subject to scrutiny and judgment. While I think the suspension of Phelps was overboard, he could have also exercised more caution - while public opinion shouldn't prevent him from having the kind of private life he enjoys, some responsibility does fall on him to make sure it is private. If he was smoking up at home, or with a close group of friends, it would have been easier to prevent pictures being taken - and less likely that someone would sell him out. At the same time, there is a huge double standard - most athletes have a reputation for drinking and partying. If Phelps had stuck to beer, this probably wouldn't be a big deal. Unfortunately for him, there are still a lot of hang-ups about weed.

[Lando]

exactly. what if it were the 1920's??? Then alcohol would be illegal too and he'd get suspended for drinking!

Or maybe alcohol is also a performance enhancing drug?!

Really... I mean, these things are not like steroids. The suspension was a bit overboard, but they only did it to use phelps as an example that they don't tolerate it, because it's against the rules.

[xjsb125]

Should the accomplishments of actors, athletes, and politicians be held in any higher regard than the everyday Joe who sets goals in their life and achieves them?

[MindsOnLoan]

But the thing is, in this situation, his actions weren't against the rules. If he would have doing weed in his season or whatever and had been tested and failed, he should be suspended. There isn't a rule about doing weed outside of his season. I understand that they're trying to make an example of him, but it's complete bullshit to be punished for not breaking the rules.

[Lando]

So your saying it's fair for society to expect someone to be faultless? Because that seems like what people expect of celebrities. No one can please everyone all the time. Everyone has something about them that will anger or disappoint others. Wouldn't this just put more pressure on the kids? To try to live up to the impossible? To try to be virtually faultless? The kids would drive themselve insane or crumble under the pressure.

Besides, kids change their mind about these things all the time. If it was someone who they know and is apart of their lives, then it could be a big deal for them. If it's some celebrity that they've never met, then another great athlete will be their next hero soon enough.

if you know anything about kids, you'll know that they like to have positive role models such as athletes that they like. they're not going to ever crush themselves to be faultless (that's what a controlling parent who makes all the decisions for a child would do) but kids look up to athletes and pick favourites and even pretend to be them when playing sports and stuff. they never understand the whole being perfect thing, a lot of them who take sports seriously love to practice and get better because they love the activity itself. there is no pressure to be as good as someone like that, they might pressure themselves in their teens when they're taking sports seriously for scholarships or for a future profession in it, but by then they've made the decisions of whether to go down the positive paths in life such as organized sports teams, or negative things like drugs and gangs... I'm not saying those are the only examples of positive and negative activities, but I'm using that as an example of how idols really influence a child in a lot of ways.

[Shanae]

Really, I don't think he should've gotten suspended for it. It really bugs me to see this stuff exploding all over the media. Who cares? He's a person, he makes mistakes. Just because he's a star athlete doesn't mean he is immune to doing things that some would see as "stupid."

Another example is seeing headlines about another Miley Cyrus photo scandal. Apparently she made the "slanty eyes" and was accused of mocking Japanese people. People should stop worrying about all of these little things and get on with it already.

[Lando]

Apparently she made the "slanty eyes" and was accused of mocking Japanese people. People should stop worrying about all of these little things and get on with it already.

yeah! i mean the Chinese were probably laughing at the fact that they didn't get made fun of! Take that Japan!

[MindsOnLoan]

According to Conan O'Brien, there is a lesson kids can learn from this: Never share your pot with someone who has the lung capacity of a dolphin.

[nikki4982]

I love Conan.