The controversy brought up recently regarding the picture of Michael Phelps and the bong-smoking are causing quite a stir.
I am not upset that he was smoking (nor am I surprised).
However I am disappointed in his endorsement companies (i.e.? Speedo) for not dropping him like sponsors typically do with African-Americans, including Michael Vick and Kobe Bryant.
Granted smoking weed does not equate to the level of dog fighting or rape, but none of it is right.
Marijuana is still illegal, you know.
By the way, Bryant did not get convicted of rape, but he was already dropped by many sponsors, and he’s had to fight his way back to change his image.
I am glad this Phelps’ incident is being made a big deal in the media.
Phelps should be dropped from all advertisements to be taught a lesson.
His publicist issued an apology on his behalf that said, “This won’t happen again.”
Oh really?
Around the time of the 2004 Olympics, Phelps also got a DUI charge and not just the charge is wrong, but the fact that he was 19 and underage when this occurred.
You know what? In that apology, he said he wouldn’t do anything else like that again, and here comes the “Golden Boy” with another discrepancy.
If companies do not punish him and lay down the law, what’s coming next after the 2012 Olympics? Arson?
Phelps is definitely swimming in hot water, and it’s time he gets pulled out for a pool break.
By LaTasha Miles
Michael Phelps, 14-time Olympic gold medalist, was caught on photograph taking a hit on a marijuana bong. If I were Phelps, I would not have put myself in that situation because he is a celebrity and he knows that he is always going to be in the limelight.
Phelps is looked up to by many. He made a very bad decision by partaking in illegal activities while being at the party at the University of South Carolina. I could do illegal activity and have a picture taken of me, but because nobody really knows me besides the Charlotte and Winston-Salem communities, it would not be that bad for me.
All Phelps should have done was do all of his illegal activity in the privacy of his own house. Had he done that he would not have to make all of these public apologies to everyone and from this his image will always be a little tainted.
By Grant Fulton
USA Olympian Michael Phelps has been photographed smoking marijuana. The gold medal winner publicly apologized for his “behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment.”
In a statement released by one of his agents he stated, “I’m 23 years old and despite the successes I’ve had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again.”
Ironically, Phelps as Miles mentioned, received a DUI previously and stated he would never do that again too. So why the apology Mr. Phelps?
What do you owe the public?
I’m not going to condemn you to ‘celebrity hell’ for being a young man experimenting.
Many people that have walked through this strange thing called life and have done something that was not socially and morally right when they were younger, but they get past it and move on.
You didn’t regret it while you were doing it, so why play into the public outcry of the bad celebrity.
You are still a great athlete and an asset to the U.S. athletic world. Now is the time to rebuild your image, but if you must give in to the temptations of life, do it with your closest friends.
By Stephanie Douthit