Micheal Phelps caught using drugs

He has nothing on the original "Bad Boy" of swimming (which happens to be a girl, thank you!)

The biography here is a bit tame... I saw a movie years ago that embellished it, but IMO is probablly more true to life. She was one of my heros growing up as a competitive swimmer. I thought her story was one of preserverence sprinkled with humour.

http://www.bookrags.com/essay-2005/3/26/01546/3097

[jayswin]

Micheal Phelps has now been dropped from the "power within" speaking tour based out of Toronto. This was the event that was bringing the swimmer to Calgary, and the tickets are non-refundable. That kind of sucks.

[HOOT]

For a little weed?

Wow talk about over reaction. Send him out to BC we will welcome him with open arms and bong.

[Jets4Life]

Originally Posted by flameswin

Micheal Phelps has now been dropped from the "power within" speaking tour based out of Toronto. This was the event that was bringing the swimmer to Calgary, and the tickets are non-refundable. That kind of sucks.

I can't believe how hypocritical we are being here. Remember Nagano 1998? Does a Canadian by the name Ross Rebagliati ring a bell?He had his snowboarding Gold medal taken away because they found cannabis in his system. The Canadian panel on the IOC was the deciding vote, and due to public outrage that Canada had abstained in the vote, they quickly changed the vote to letting Rebagliati keep the Gold medal.

He returned to Canada as a hero. He was on talk shows, and even presented a trophy at the 1998 NHL Awards. We gave him standing ovations wherever he went. I personally think he should be treated the same way. After all, pot is not a performance enhanching drug.

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by Jets4Life

I can't believe how hypocritical we are being here. Remember Nagano 1998? Does a Canadian by the name Ross Rebagliati ring a bell?He had his snowboarding Gold medal taken away because they found cannabis in his system. The Canadian panel on the IOC was the deciding vote, and due to public outrage that Canada had abstained in the vote, they quickly changed the vote to letting Rebagliati keep the Gold medal.

He returned to Canada as a hero. He was on talk shows, and even presented a trophy at the 1998 NHL Awards. We gave him standing ovations wherever he went. I personally think he should be treated the same way. After all, pot is not a performance enhanching drug.

Different story, different circumstances. Apples and oranges. Rebagliati claimed that he never partook in the marijuana and it was in his system because he attended a party where it was being used. That was never disproven. Phelps on the other hand has admitted to taking bong hits, which I can understand parents not wanting this guy held up as a role model.

[Azure]

Yeah, no kidding about the overreaction.

Big deal if he smokes weed. Its a naturally grown plant that SHOULD be legal to use for recreational use. I could do worse things to myself with Advil.

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by Azure

Yeah, no kidding about the overreaction. Big deal if he smokes weed. Its a naturally grown plant that SHOULD be legal to use for recreational use. I could do worse things to myself with Advil.

On the face of it, I agree 100%.

However commercial interests that are dropping their endorsement deals, especially endorsement deals targeting youth audiences, don't want him as their star spokesperson/role model. And I can understand that point of view as well.

[Temporary_User]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

On the face of it, I agree 100%.

However commercial interests that are dropping their endorsement deals, especially endorsement deals targeting youth audiences, don't want him as their star spokesperson/role model. And I can understand that point of view as well.

Do you think sponsors should be able to drop him if the picture was of him holding a cigarette?

[Jets4Life]

Olympic snowboarder defends Phelps over pot shot

Feb 4, 2009

VANCOUVER, Canada (AFP) — Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati leapt to the defense of US Olympian swimmer Michael Phelps, who is embroiled in a drugs scandal.
Phelps, 23, has apologized for "inappropriate behavior" after a British tabloid published a photo of him holding a bong, a device often used to smoke marijuana.

Rebagliati, himself the subject of a global drugs scandal in 1998, called publishing the Phelps photo "an invasion of his privacy," and said the worldwide media attention is an overreaction.
The photo ran in News of the World newspaper, which said it was shot at a party last November at the University of South Carolina, but did not say that Phelps was smoking marijuana.
Phelps holds the record for winning the most Olympic gold medals.

Rebagliati, 38, tested positive for marijuana after winning the world's first Olympic snowboarding competition at the 1998 winter games in Japan. He was temporarily stripped of his medal, which was later returned because marijuana was not a banned performance drug.
"Phelps was at a private party," Rebagliati told AFP in an email interview in Canada's westernmost province of British Columbia. "Young children look up to celebrities and there is a certain level of responsibility that goes along with being a celebrity.

"But celebrities are human too and deserve a private life," he said. "There should be a line drawn between when an athlete is out in a public forum and when he is in a private setting."


Way to go, Ross!

[The Goon]

Originally Posted by flameswin

Micheal Phelps has now been dropped from the "power within" speaking tour based out of Toronto. This was the event that was bringing the swimmer to Calgary, and the tickets are non-refundable. That kind of sucks.

Yeah, my wife and I are going to that, and I just heard the update this morning. I figured it was coming at some point.

Still, they found a decent name to replace him...Fake president Martin Sheen!

Power Within - Calgary

It looks like Phelps was dropped from the Vancouver event as well - so much for BC loving their pot smokers!

Power Within - Vancouver

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

Do you think sponsors should be able to drop him if the picture was of him holding a cigarette?

Sponsors can drop him for whatever reason they want (depending upon the contract, of course).

[Ford Prefect]

Everybody who's been such a downer about this should like just burn one down and chill out.

[edn88]

I feel bad for Phelps - he makes one mistake (and one that is honestly blown out of proportion by a factor of 100) and he is crucified, while a hundred other 'celebrity role models' do 10 times worse (Britney, Paris, Rihanna's loser boyfriend, etc etc etc) and it is just laughed off (perhaps because it is becoming so common place in Hollywood no one cares anymore)

I am not an advocate for pot by any stretch of the imagination, but seriosly folks, lets give the kid a break and move on.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by The Goon

Yeah, my wife and I are going to that, and I just heard the update this morning. I figured it was coming at some point.

Still, they found a decent name to replace him...Fake president Martin Sheen!

Power Within - Calgary

It looks like Phelps was dropped from the Vancouver event as well - so much for BC loving their pot smokers!

Power Within - Vancouver

The decision was made by the promoter (based in toronto) to drop Phelps from the entire Canadian tour, no one in BC had a say in the matter.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by edn88

I feel bad for Phelps - he makes one mistake (and one that is honestly blown out of proportion by a factor of 100) and he is crucified, while a hundred other 'celebrity role models' do 10 times worse (Britney, Paris, Rihanna's loser boyfriend, etc etc etc) and it is just laughed off (perhaps because it is becoming so common place in Hollywood no one cares anymore)

I am not an advocate for pot by any stretch of the imagination, but seriosly folks, lets give the kid a break and move on.

Olympic Athlete vs. Entertainer?

I dont know, I wouldnt feel too bad for Phelps, I have a feeling that he'll be fine, in a couple years when this whole thing blows over and people hardly remember it anymore he'll be in an easychair somewhere blowing smoke rings throught his hundreds of Gold medals and having a good laugh about it all.

Its times like these though that I almost wish that turnabout weren't so logistically unfeasable.

I mean, if I were a vindictive man, which I am, who had been wronged as a celebrity, which I am not, but Phelps is, I'd be tempted to question how many of my condemners have not committed this very same act. And by that I mean, the promoters dropping him, the media members reporting it and people in their homes smoking a fatty and laughing at him from the comforts of their living rooms.

Its obvious that I have a problem with the overly self-righteous, but is this guy really any worse than any of them when one considers that the only real difference is that some lucky basterd got a picture of him doing it when the only reason that there arent thousands of pictures of people doing it is because no one cares about those average chumps?

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

Do you think sponsors should be able to drop him if the picture was of him holding a cigarette?

Didn't know that cigarettes were illegal?

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by flameswin

The decision was made by the promoter (based in toronto) to drop Phelps from the entire Canadian tour, no one in BC had a say in the matter.

If we did he would be here...He could even stay at my place I won't let anyone in with cameras

[Temporary_User]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Didn't know that cigarettes were illegal?

Since I quoted Devils'Advocate's post, my post was made in regard with him being a role model.
What I questioned was whether Devils' (or anyone) would have an issue with Phelps, being a role model, smoking cigarettes? (thus be looked at as promoting smoking cigarettes as many believe he is now seems to be doing so with pot)

Do people have an issue with Phelps 'promoting' marijuana, or with him 'promoting' that it is fine to do illegal things in general?

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

Since I quoted Devils'Advocate's post, my post was made in regard with him being a role model.
What I questioned was whether Devils' (or anyone) would have an issue with Phelps, being a role model, smoking cigarettes? (thus be looked at as promoting smoking cigarettes as many believe he is now seems to be doing so with pot)

Do people have an issue with Phelps 'promoting' marijuana, or with him 'promoting' that it is fine to do illegal things in general?

I'm more of the later then the former. But to be honest, I'm just not on board with glamorizing illegal recreational narcotics use.

[Devils'Advocate]

I'm different than CC in that I just don't care if it is illegal since (IMO) it shouldn't be. Just because someone does something illegal doesn't make them evil (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.).

But, yes, it is similar to smoking cigarettes. It is something that makes him less of a role model. I mean, Gretzky was condemned for promoting cigars. If a company using Wayne felt that the negative publicity would make him less of a role model and they decided to go another way with their advertising dollar, all the power to 'em....