Feb 01 2009
Michael Phelps Drugs Scandal: Is His 2012 Olympic Bid Over?
I have to admit that I was a big fan of Michael Phelps when he became the most successful Olympian of all time in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. He was simple awesome in the pool and easily outclassed everyone else swimming against him. However, the Olympics were otherwise blighted by accusations of cheating that were levelled at other athletes that had failed drug tests. There were quite a few of them all told, which forced the Olympic Committee into passing strict guidelines that all athletes had to follow for London 2012, including 4 year bans for those failing drug tests and being proven to have taken drugs in the meantime. Unfortunately, it is these guidelines that may well mean that Michael Phelps will not be in London in 2012.
I opened a newspaper up this morning to see a picture of Phelps that had been taken at the University of South Carolina in November. He had been at a campus party, which was fair enough in itself but the bong he was using was not. The picture proves that Phelps was using cannabis. Although this is not a performance enhancing drug it could mean an end to his London 2012 Olympics because he has been proven to have used drugs and furthermore would incur a 4 year ban if the Olympics Committee actually chooses to enforce its own drugs policy. If it does not enforce it and give Phelps the ban then it will look like the entire policy is an absolute joke and will not encourage other athletes to be drugs free.
In truth, I can’t believe that Michael Phelps, the world’s greatest Olympian, would be so stupid. Although I understand how old Phelps is and that he wants to have fun, this may be the one mistake that costs him everything he has worked so hard for. That would be a shame but he should not get away with it just because he is Michael Phelps. Any other athlete would most likely get a ban for drugs use so I don’t see why he should be any different. His people obviously didn’t think so either when they tried to bribe the newspaper not to print the photo!
Good GOD! Give the boy a break. NO ONE else has ever done what this man has accomplished. Cannibus is NOT an enhancment drug. Plus, olympics are gone now. The man trained for how many years to accomplish his EIGHT gold medals? Most people get to go home at the end of the day, and try to forget their lousy day. Phelps could not do this.If it were alcohol we were talking about , well, we would not be talking about it. The high wears off quickly, but alcohol stays in your system and ravages organs. Just think what this man might be able to do if he didn’t kill a few brain cells smoking pot. He has his whole life ahead of him, and he’s accomplished more then most of us three times his age.
climb down off your pedestial, I’m not throwing any stones.It gives me no satisfaction to delibertly dune someone.
Good GOD Darla! Please read my article then your comment and see just how much you’ve commented on that I didn’t actually say! I looked at the facts and gave my opinion. Aside from calling him stupid to have smoked pot in front of 200 other people (one of whom actually took the photo and SOLD it), I did nothing to tear him down. He did that himself given the Olympic Committee drugs policy.
I admire Phelps the sportsman (as I said in the post) but in my opinion drugs of any kind in sports in unacceptable, no matter what the sport or who the sports star may be. After all, kids look up to them. A rugby player here took cocaine and got caught. He is currently banned and there was uproar about it, despite the fact it is a non-performance enhancing drug. I have the same opinion of him - that he was stupid to do it in the first place and risk throwing everything away.
I do not drink alcohol and I do not do drugs - my choice. I am highly against the latter given how many lives I have seen destroyed as a result of them and consequently am certainly not going to say “Oh, it’s OK because it’s Michael Phelps”. Your comment puts Phelps on a “pedestial” but I’m afraid I don’t have a pedestal. I’m just a regular person that says it as I see it. If you think illegal drugs of any kind are morally OK then that’s up to you but you may want to ask why Phelps’ people tried their best to stop the photo being published in the first place. After all, if he hadn’t taken the drugs and someone hadn’t cashed in on the photo then I wouldn’t have chosen to comment on it would I?
How can you blame such great men of being irresponsible. They ought to go the extra mile just to prove themselves.. See what Federer is facing in the form of Nadal.</a.
-shrugs- I wish people would see… it’s just pot. It’s not the end of the world, and it’s no reason to kick the boy out of the pool.