<p>I cannot believe they are going to use tax payers money to bring charges against Phelps.</p>
<p>May be USA Swimming is contemplating the “three strikes” rule. I suspect that they would have blown this off if he had not had the DUI.</p>
<p>The sponsors are probably doing a victory dance - imagine how much money they are going to save by not paying him the outrageous $$.</p>
<p>Phelps should count his lucky stars that he is not a sumo wrestler ;)</p>
<p>[All</a> the buzz: Pot scandal jolts Japan’s sumo world - Yahoo! News](<a href=“http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090205/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_sumo_drug_scandal]All”>http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090205/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_sumo_drug_scandal)</p>
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<p>That was one expensive bong hit. </p>
<p>It has been interesting hearing how the reporters are describing what Phelps did. Some seem to think they have to say things like he was “using a glass pipe.” Others reported that he was using a “glass pipe used for smoking marijuana.” So tonight, when Brian Williams on the NBC News starts the story, I’m wondering what he will say. What do you know - he said that he was photographed smoking from a bong. I’m sure my Dad was sitting in his rocking chair saying “smoking from a what?” </p>
<p>And one more thing - why haven’t we seen that bong on Ebay yet?</p>
<p>cartera, are you one of Jay Leno’s writers? That was one of his jokes last night - how the media was trying to come up with all sorts of names for the “thing” ;)</p>
<p>I wish! I didn’t see that - if it had been on The Daily Show or Colbert, I would have had to fess up to stealing it.</p>
<p>I was thinking of that also - what’s up with “glass marijuana pipe”? Clearly that was a bong!</p>
<p>I see that Jon Stewart of the Daily Show has not even addressed it. I was waiting for something really funny from him, but nothing??? What’s up with that?</p>
<p>“The underage drinking /drunk driving arrest was, in my opinion, far worse but then again he gave his whole “I’m sorry, I’ve learned my lesson, it won’t happen again speech” then and then he went out and got caught doing this. Now he just issues the same old “I’m sorry, I’ve learned my lesson, it won’t happen again” statements again…”</p>
<p>How many times do we hear this from our own children, selves, spouses, etc. The issues might be different, but sometimes lessons are not learned until something really bad happens. If he was spending all of that time training, I believe a lot of life’s lessons may have been avoided. As soon as he is out of the pool, life steps in and creates his lessons. He may be a superhuman swimmer, but he will not be able to avoid being a human learner of life’s lessons. We need to reserve a soft place to land for our “heroes” when they are just excellent human beings in a certain area.</p>
<p>I would hardly call this “really bad”. It doesn’t jeopardize his spot at the London games. He’s missing out on one of his smaller sponsors. Lots of sponsorship money minus Kelloggs is still lots. </p>
<p>For the majority of people in America, this is a non-issue. There is still a pretty sizable Puritan contingent in the country, however, that have it in their head that smoking weed is the worst thing that someone could do. Pulling some sort of “I’m shocked and horrified that a 23-year-old would EVER think about marijuana!” is the equivalent of burying your head in the sand. Smoking weed is not moral or immoral. It’s no different than taking a picture of him drinking a beer in a lot of people’s mind.</p>
<p>There is a ridiculous amount of press on this. Leave the kid alone. Let his mother deal with him. As a mother of teenage boys, I have witnessed the bad judgment of youth. Lessons can be learned without tarring and feathering the kid. Hero worship of athletes in the US is out of control. Put him up there and then knock him down with a bat. By all accounts he is a great kid. Has he ever been known to show up at the pool wasted? He made a bad choice with the drinking and with the bong. And he has acknowledged that it was poor judgment.
And the thought that those South Carolina police want to charge him…Are they going to charge everyone on the U of SC campus?</p>
<p>He consumed the bong hit in four seconds, a new record. The previous record was five seconds, also set by Michael Phelps…</p>
<p>So he enjoys his pot. Big deal. (I’m just hoping he used it far more than once - to take such a hit for a single huff would seem unfair.)</p>
<p>Expands his lung capacity.</p>
<p>What he has really learned from this is probably to trust no one.</p>
<p>I wonder who the complete jerk who sold the photo is? I’d like to see that person exposed to the judgment of his or her peers.</p>
<p>Maybe it was one these losers that took the picture. These guys were the funniest part of Borat.</p>
<p>[Breaking:</a> Obnoxious Chi Psi frat boys sue Borat](<a href=“http://overlawyered.com/2006/11/breaking-obnoxious-chi-psi-frat-boys-sue-borat/]Breaking:”>Breaking: Obnoxious Chi Psi frat boys sue Borat - Overlawyered)</p>
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He’s not a teenager. He’s 23 years old. Let him deal with himself. </p>
<p>I don’t expect perfection from anybody, but what I’ve always told my kids is that if they aren’t prepared to pay the consequences, don’t do the crime.</p>
<p>I have only adult children right now so I don’t much care whether he endorses Kellogs. But I guarantee you that if my kids were little there is no way on earth I’d buy a box of cereal with his picture on it.</p>
<p>I’m not interested in what a company that has made a living in selling transfat and corn syrup to children puts on its boxes.</p>
<p>I know he is 23. But believe me, a mother’s disappointment has much more impact than a lost endorsement or a media pile on. He has to face his mom, who gave up much to help him achieve his goals.</p>
<p>And Santonio Holmes…</p>
<p>An update:</p>
<p>[Arrests</a> Reported in Michael Phelps Bong Case](<a href=“404 - Page Not Found | KTLA”>404 - Page Not Found | KTLA)</p>
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