Friday, September 4, 2009
One Bourban, one Scotch, & One Bong
OK I know this happened a while ago, but I think it's a great first choice of a topic for debate. Michael Phelps is an international sensation, he is the Mohammad Ali of today, a man unquestionably the best in his field and a household name all over the world. So I must admit I myself was pretty surprised when I first found out Phelps had been busted for smoking weed. But the way the media grabbed this photo and blew it all out of proportion was completely unnecessary. I know marijuana is illegal in the eyes of the United States Court of Law, but the dangerousness of the drug is something that had been heavily argued for decades. When the media got their grubby hands on this they made it seem as though Phelps had disgraced the entire country with his actions. The Kellogg's corporation terminated his endorsement deal and USA swimming suspended him for three months. Thankfully, the country seemed to be quick to forgive Phelps for his party antics and the issue has been very subdued within the media. But the question remains, has Phelps been properly punished? Did he handle the situation properly? If you ask me, I'd have to say the media's asinine attempts at making Phelps out to be a criminal and a bad example for children is an outrage. It goes without saying that Phelps is an influence to millions of people around the world and his every action is closely monitored, so why only show the picturesque image of Phelps as he is winning his eighth gold medal to children? Why not show him as he really is, so kids can develop a better understanding of life and how no one is without flaw. Everyone within the media believes Phelps smoking pot is sending the wrong messages to children, but who are they to say what's right and what's wrong? We should be telling middle school students during their Drug-Awareness classrooms that, yes, marijuana is a drug, but you can still smoke some and be a gold medal winning Olympic swimmer! I feel that USA swimming couldn't really have been all that concerned with Phelps' actions ruining his performance, and the three month suspention they gave him was probably just because with such massive media coverage of the topic they figured they would look bad if they didn't give Phelps some kind of a slap on the wrist. Kellogg's went off the deep end entirely, by terminating his endorsement they probably wont feel any damage done to their stock sales, but by being a company that distributes not only cereal products, but dozens of assorted munchies, such as Cheez-its and Rice Crispy Treats, you'd think they'd realize that a good portion of their sales are coming from the stoner market. There is currently a website that encourages a boycott of Kellogg's products amongst the stoned, and they're still growing in members. But the person who handled this situation the worst, in my opinion, was Phelps himself. Instead of taking a stand and fighting for his rights, Phelps caved like a cowardly dog, instantly pronouncing that he had used “poor judgment,” in a public apology. I'm dissapointed in him because he could have been the first non-musician with great status and power to tell the world, “Listen, I smoke pot sometimes. I have before and I will again, and I'm still gonna crush the spread during the next summer Olympics because I'm that good.” And if you think that was Phelps' first time smoking, you're sorely mistaken, a bong is not an amateur apparatus I assure you! If he had only said that many people would probably have begun thinking about marijuana and its legality a little deeper and the nation would have taken a step in the right direction. But as it is, Phelps shrank and hid behind his fortune and is going to be damn certain no cameras are present the next time he lights up
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This is a different take on the Phelps issue than most I’ve seen. I agree with you that Phelps should have handled the situation better by telling his side of the story instead of what his manager or whomever wanted him to say. I also think that the media should have stayed out of his personal life and should only talk about his swimming career. However, I don’t agree with your message to kids stating “yes, marijuana is a drug, but you can still smoke some and be a medal winning olympic swimmer.” Kids are very influential, especially with their role models. If they see their role model smoking and not getting punished for his actions, then a kid might think its ok for them to do it as well. As of right now smoking is illegal and until it is made legal kids should be taught that its bad to do and the consequences of their actions if they do it. I also think that the actions made by Kellogg and US Swim team were very confusing for the public. The US team blew off the importance of this issue by basically slapping Phelps on the wrist and calling it a day when they suspended him for only 3 months. But Kelloggs acted as if Phelps committed genocyde when they stopped sponsoring him. These two organizations should have thought more about the issue at hand rather than the swimmer and his gold medals.
ReplyDeleteI heard a few things about Phelps smoking week when it first happened, but after a few days it seemed like it just disappeared from the news. Personally, I do not think it is a big deal that he was smoking weed, although I do see where people are coming from with their opinions of the situation. His influence on kids is very big especially to swimmers, but no one is perfect, even the big time names of today's athletic world. Alex Rodriguez was recently outed for doing steroids and I'm sure a lot of little league players looked up to him. Like Alyssa I completely disagree with what you said about telling kids it is okay to smoke and you can still be good at what you do. Smoking is illegal and kids should learn that it's wrong and that you will get punished if they are caught doing it. Celebrities are in the public eye everyday for anything they do, good or bad. They should be able to deal with the consequences if they get caught doing something that they shouldn't be. But are those consequences sometimes too light?
ReplyDeleteAs the girls above me had previously mentioned about you saying the thing about the kids, I do disagree with that statement. You did however make a good point in that Kellogg's brands are in particular for stoners, if that's how you want to put it. And yes as you said, obviously it wasnt his first time if he was smoking a bong. Although, he should realize that he is the face, well was, and he shouldve lied low for a while until this whole Phelps being a role model thing lightened up when the next olympics lets say, comes along. Also, in no way will Kelloggs be losing money because of this media coverage. No stoner sits at home and thinks, 'hmm ive got the munchies, but im not going to eat Kelloggs products because they ruined Phelps.' Phelps should have thought twice about what he did and yes, the media does blow things out of porportion, but not this time. Lastly, we all make mistakes, but as a star and an icon, you pretty much sign your life away to be all that you can be. I also completely agree that these companies need to think it over, but they had a lot of pressure on them and those companies, their main consumers are adults and children. So lets put it this way, if your dad was going to kick you out of school for bad grades and not pay for your tuition and you didnt have the money to stay, and you really wanted to stay, would you simply say "whatever" and ignore him, the one who is paying for you, like the consumers are for the company, or would you take a quick action and be like "sorry ill get better, ill do something about it."???
ReplyDeleteWell Tom, if Phelps had've went to all his classes and wrote all of his memoir...ok let's start this again. I do believe Kellog was a little hard on him but so are you. I don't know if you've ever watched an interview with him but he seems to be all over the place. I'm sure he has a publicist, manager, and a couple of other overpaid people that handle issues. They probably told him, "say this and spare your career!" Which might seem spineless to us (or more specifically you) but worked for him. Some action had to be taken so other athletes don't do a Kobe (rape accusation/adultery) and get off with a slap on the wrist or NBA Championship ring. Maybe that was a poor example.
ReplyDeleteI agree with some of your statements and some of them no. Michael Phelps is no doubt the greatest olympian of all time. He's done the unthinkable and received 8 gold medals. His athletiscm is simply amazing. I do agree with you also that he should have stood up for himself and not been a cowardly dog when the media attacked him. He should have told the media to give him some slack and that he is an adult and can make his own decisions. I was very dissapoited when Kellogg's dropped his endorsement deal and thought that was pushing it too far.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to the children I still think they should be showed that Phelps is an astonishing athlete but yeah he's human and people make mistakes. I mean nobody's perfect right? Even though pot is still illegal in the United States children should know that it is illegal but be hidden from the whole truth.
I wasn't surprised at all. He is a young man on top of the world and wanting to enjoy some of his life; sobeit. Wasn't he in a DWI accident a few years ago? I loved your take on Kellog's losing the business of people with the munchies for not sticking by him. So what you will about the dangerousness or medicimal purposes of marijuana, it still is illegal. That's why Kelloggs bailed. Also musicians make their money off of decadant lifestyles. That's why their bodies fail from abuse and the wind up in rehabs. That's why the message you don't want to send to kids is smoke pot and be like a rockstar, I mean swimmer.
ReplyDeleteTom, that was an insightful post. Although, I do not smoke pot regularly, I don't see a problem at all with smoking every now and then. Let's face it, most of us are attending school at Cortland, and most take part in excessive drinking on weekends. Alcohol is way worse for the human body than marijuana, however, the government would have you believe the opposite. If Phelps were caught drinking a beer, this ordeal would never have happened. Although, I wouldn't go as far telling kids it's somewhat OK to smoke pot, your right, we have to tell them the truth. I remember our 5th grade D.A.R.E. program, and looking back on it, it was filled with lies and misconceptions that made our class confused until high school. However, although all people are created equal, in essence we are not. Michael Phelps has to be held to a higher level of responsibility than the rest of the young adults (yes, he is still a young adult) out there. If me or you get caught smoking a bong, nothing will happen. When Phelps gets caught, he gets world wide media attention. Although this is the case, like you, I completely disagree with this level of responsibility we put on people our age. Picture yourself as an college student with an ability that no one else can even fathom. Are you suddenly going to stop participating in what your accustomed to doing? Whether that be drinking alcohol, smoking weed, or just eating food your used to eating. I 100% agree with you that we need to change our drug programs for youths, and explain that these young adults are just human beings and shouldn't be worshipped.
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