Lamh Foistenach Abu!
Posted on 02/05/2009 2:21:55 PM PST by Justaham
In his first interview since a photo surfaced showing him smoking from a marijuana pipe, Michael Phelps said yesterdaythat the intense public scrutiny has him contemplating whether he will swim in the 2012 Olympics.
Phelps, who said that he "clearly made a mistake" and that the past week has been both embarrassing and uncomfortable for him, spoke with The Baltimore Sun inside Meadowbrook Aquatic Center after finishing his daily workout. While he still has goals he wants to achieve in the sport, he said, he's going to discuss it with his family and his coach, Bob Bowman.
"This is a decision of mine that I'm not going to make today and I'm not going to make tomorrow," Phelps said. "It's going to require a lot of time and energy and a lot of thinking for myself - but also talking to Bob and talking to my family and just deciding what I want to do.
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
The ONLY reason he would drop out would be if he had enough millions in endorsement money, anything else won’t do it IMO.
He’s getting a raw deal over this business. It’s a shame.
Lamh Foistenach Abu!
What shame. I was looking forward to his participation in 1 X 100 toke medley.
he he he
Because he got caught with a bong? I’m not condoning it, but college-aged kids smoking pot at parties isn’t exactly an anomaly.
PR ploy to win sympathy. He did something stupid, he’s apologized for it, it’s time to move on.
This is also a good opportunity for him to encourage people to choose exercise and fitness over drugs.
Arnold openly toked up and look at him now.
King RINO.
So there is always “hope”.
Yeah, and let’s be honest, all baby boomer Freepers (maybe those other than baby boomers too) might have had a brain fart and partook in a toke or two.
Now I wouldn’t know but I did have some friends that did.
Just sayin.
If you are a creation of Big Media you can be destroyed by Big media - Rush Limbaugh.
Columbia, where sports careers come to die.
"Phelps, are you gonna pass that thing, or what, man? Puff, puff, give."
It would be a shame if he quit over this silly thing.
But that said, he’s set his own bar pretty high for a repeat performance. What’s he going to do... exceed 8 medals? What if he “only” wins 5 golds next time? Will they call him a failure? Wow.
Phelps is a big whiner, but don’t be fooled, his agents are playing this manipulation game.
The message is “get off my back” or I wont compete in the Olympics or official events and you lose millions.
I think less of him because of this than his banging the bong slowly...Just take your 1 month of criticism like a big boy and shut up. Personally, I don’t care if he swims or not, I watch swimming every 4 years.
If his using drugs disqualifies him, then it’s not his decision to make whether he competes or not. Is he trying a, “You can ban me: I’m retired!” strategy?
If his drug use doesn’t disqualify him, then what difference does it make? Anyone who expects successful athletes to “model” anything other than intense devotion to athletic success hasn’t been paying attention for the last 40 years.
Somebody in another thread commented that if Obama’s indiscretions had been examined as closely by the MSM as Phelps, Obama may not have become POTUS. Interesting premise.
Expecting consistency or any sort of intellectual honesty from the media is like expecting athletes to set a good example. Maybe even less likely to be rewarding, actually - there are individual athletes who are fine people serving the community, and at least their choice of employment does no harm, unlike journalists’.
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