When I saw the byline "U.S. swimming officals ban Michael Phelps due to his recent drug scandal", my heart dropped. In an increasingly corrupt sports world, "drugs" almost always means some sort of performance enhancer. It is very rare that we see a pure sports figure, and it seems that every sports hero is tainted by the use of steriods. We see it with sports idols from Barry Bonds even down to Lance Armstrong. (Yes, folks, that's right, even Lance does it.)
So, natrually when I see drugs, I imagaine that the last true and seemingly pure American sports hero is shooting up on 'roids as well. But we can all breathe a sigh of relief- America's favorite fish is not taking performance enhancers, but rather, smoking marijuana. Now, marijuana is undisputedly NOT a performance enhancer, in fact it gives the opposing effect and tends to have a negative effect on sports performance.
Now I know most of you are thinking that Phelp's use of marijuana is still a very bad thing, and I won't argue. However, there is a huge distinction in my mind between irresponsible decisions and unethical use of steroids. While smoking marijuana is illegal and unacceptable behavior for an olympic athlete, it is a far-cry from flat-out cheating by using performace ehancing drugs.
Should Phelps be punished? Absolutely. He has made a public apology, lost millions in endorsements and is currently on 3-month suspension. It is vital we hold atheletes accountable for their actions, and Phelps is certainly no exception. However, I don't think we should cruicify the young athlete for an irresponsible "youthful" decision. While no one doubts that Phelps has a long way to come as a role model, I'm just relieved he's not cheating.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQuotmKWACE
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