Hypocrites Need to Lay Off Michael Phelps

UPDATED: A petition taking Kelloggs to task for firing Michael Phelps has sprung up. To read/sign the petition go here.

*

I am not one to typically weigh into issues involving sports. Other than enjoying surfing, sailing, water skiing and ski skiing, I largely missed out on getting the sports gene. But the BS going on over Michael Phelps' bong photo is getting to be off the charts in terms of hypocrisy. Beginning with Kelloggs (whose products I will now avoid purchasing) - which has dropped Phelps' endorsement - the hypocrisy and cases of false vapors over a kid like Phelps perhaps using a little marijuana is nauseating. In my generation, anyone who claims that they did not try out marijuana is either lying, was/is a religious nutcase or was such an incredible dork that they were in social exile. I suspect the same has more or less held true in over the intervening years since my youth.

*

Could it be that some of the feigned outrage is that someone like Phelps using marijuana dispels the fabricated myth that marijuana necessarily leads to other drug use or impairs one's ability to function at high levels? Moreover, I'm sorry, but where was the outrage from these same folks when we had a president and vice president ordering war crimes activities in violation of the Geneva Conventions? Now, Phelps - who has done so much to boost interest in swimming - is debating whether or not he will swim in the 2012 Olympics. All because sanctimonious hypocrites have their panties in a wad. It's about time that people and the drug laws on marijuana came into reality. Here are some highlights from the Baltimore Sun:

*

In his first interview since a photo surfaced showing him smoking from a marijuana pipe, Michael Phelps said yesterday that 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.

*

Phelps said he has spent the past few days with his mother and two sisters after the photo was published in Britain's News of the World over the weekend. "We've been talking a lot," he said. "I've been able to get back to my family. It's part of my life I need back."When asked whether he regularly smoked marijuana, Phelps said he did not.

*

A majority of his sponsors have vowed to stick with him despite the controversy, and yesterday, swimming's governing body, FINA, praised his apology. But scrutiny of his public life has become that much more prominent.

*

If anything, Phelps said, this has reminded him that he's subject to being watched, photographed and talked about each time he enters a room."There are always people you can't trust," he said. "During the whole thing, I've really been able to see who my friends are, who my family are, and who really loves and supports me. They've stood by my side, from the countless text messages, phone messages, e-mails, those are your friends. All those people who are around during the good times? Those aren't your friends."