What being a 23-year old kid will cost you:
The Olympic swimming sensation Michael Phelps, who was photographed inhaling from a marijuana pipe, has lost a major sponsorship deal and has been suspended from competition for three months.I'm with Andrew:Kellogg, the food company, said Thursday that it would not renew its contract with Phelps when their deal expires at the end of February. It would not disclose the value of its contract.
Later Thursday, USA Swimming suspended Phelps for three months.
...this absurd ritual takes place in which Phelps has to pretend he did something dreadful and we all have to tut-tut and frown and furrow our brows, and the sponsors cluck and the press preens - while the only conceivable news is that a 23 year-old had a good time at a party, breaking no professional rules since he was not competing when he was goofing off.
And, seriously, does anyone think that smoking pot would give him an unfair advantage in the pool? Please. When on earth are we going to grow up as a culture?
The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood 
We're such a bunch of babies as a culture sometimes. "Oh, noes! Think of the childrens! Who were smoking pot long before they saw Michael Phelps with a bong, but let us cling to our illusions."
Still, it's hard to feel too sorry for the guy; he's got plenty of other sponsorship deals. I feel sorrier for the kids who aren't famous, talented swimmers who lose jobs or other opportunities because there's a picture out there of them smoking up at a party, or a minor drug conviction on their records.
Do you think it would be reasonable for The Atlantic to fire you or Andrew if there was a widely circulated photo of you smoking weed? I'm pretty sure I'd be tossed out from my job under similar circumstances.
Brings to mind this Eddie Izzard bit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5X-9brvoq0
Grown up as a culture?
Granted I agree its ridiculous to make such a big deal about smoking pot.
But is it any less ridiculous that this guy gets paid millions to endorse products because he is a really fast swimmer?
Agree with you guys. Our culture needs to grow up. It's not like Phelps has become some major pothead spending his days getting high 24/7 while sitting on a ratty sofa in his dumpy apartment and watching Teletubbies. The guy went to a party. He took a hit off a bong. Big deal. *eyeroll*
But then he's being paid millions for his role-model-dom and with that are limitations. If you're going to pocket bank based on your sports prowess and nice-guy image, you don't get to do certain things. Phelps should have known better. At least he should have hid away from everyone if he was going to take a bong hit.
It's not like he doesn't know we act like children when it comes to marijuana use. Did he think it was going to be different for him? Probably he wasn't thinking at all. And hey, he's 23 and at a college party. I didn't think much under those circumstances either. But I wasn't making millions.
I can understand sponsors b/c they pay for an image, when that image is cracked they have a right to take action.
But all of the faux disgust coming out of the news organizations and "normal" citizens is a bit much. Plus the sheriff? Really? And the dude who took and fwd the pic is seriously not cool.
Plus to be honest his appeal went up among all demographics in the 18-35 year old range.
k1
ryanculver.blogspot.com
It may look like a victimless crime, but can you imagine being next in line after someone with Phelps' lung capacity took a hit? Total bogart.
It's the person who took the picture and circulated it that should be under the microscope. He/she is probably a "friend" to Phelps - that, to me, is what is wrong with this picture.
I saw some clip of Whoopi (on the View) saying she smoked weed and I don't think her job is at stake. It would have been really interesting if that photo had been snapped of him while he was in Amsterdam instead of London. There by breaking no laws and would the reaction have been the same?
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=whoopie&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wv#q=whoopi%2C+phelps&hl=en&emb=0
Actually, the interesting thing about the discovery that Michael "Not Actually Human" Phelps smokes marijuana is the startling knowledge that he has almost twice the lung capacity of an ordinary athlete.
Twice the lung capacity. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
[I see that elhondo got the lung capacity joke in first. I humbly withdraw.]
I threw out all my Kellog's products this morning to protest this incredible idiocy.
If Phelps had been photographed drinking a beer (and how many thousands of lives does alcohol take every year?), its maker would probably be requesting an endorsement deal from him.
Fuck, American can be retardedly puritanical.
I was more startled to learn that people still use bongs. Really? Bongs??
Lick and roll Mikey......white kids *shakes head*
I agree that one of the reasons some people are ultra-panicky and upset is that Phelps shows that smoking pot does not automatically turn you into a slack-assed loser zoning out on the parent's couch. The idea that someone can use marijuana - like alcohol - in moderation and still succeed in life destroys a lot of their arguments. This has become one of those issues that's more about people defending their egos than it is about ethics, morality, and efficacious policy.
"I threw out all my Kellog's products this morning to protest this incredible idiocy."
That's exactly why I only eat General Mills cereal. Everyone knows honey-nut cheerios goes best with a bowl.
While I agree that putting the boy on the cross for smoking a little pot is uber silly, I can't help but think that he might have thought through the need to keep it slightly more DL. when you are this famous, you have to have the good sense not to put yourself at risk of getting caught. I mean no one can manage to catch Obama smoking cigarettes....
I think marijuana should be legal.
That said, I think Kellogg's did what was right for Kellogg's in this context. As a cereal/snack company, Kellogg's has such a broad audience they need to reach that even the spectre of scandal that could affect 5% of their consumers is worth a trimming of Phelps. That's 5% of their revenue.
Now, should Phelps be subjected to this kind of false-scrutiny? No. Frankly, he can't be arrested because there is no proof that he's smoking marijuana out of that bong. There's no proof that he's smoking.
If you're going to drop Kellogg's make sure you drop all their subsidiaries too - Keebler, namely. And Kashi.
Newsflash: Phelps just gained an endorsement from Kashi cereals - he's the face of the new Hemp Bran.
// I was more startled to learn that people still use bongs. Really? Bongs??
Lick and roll Mikey......white kids *shakes head* //
Well, it IS more efficient, after all...
Oh, fuck Kelloggs. And the sheriff, and the "friend" and all the hysterical AM talk radio people talking about their 9-year-olds taking down their Michael Phelps poster.
The guy is 23. He has ADHD. Which is why his mother pushed him into swimming in the first place. So he did the backwards ball cap bong hit? Meanwhile, banks fail, people lose jobs...
Of course, the sponsor I'm watching with interest is Subway, bastion of the backroom pot deals, sandwich artists who are also freelance hydroponic experts. If those cats pull him up short, I'll laugh until I cry.
I could care less about Phelps smoking pot, but I'm sympathetic to Kellogg's position. It's not like Phelps hasn't been caught up in controversy like this before -- he also has a DUI on his record.
I think the DUI is worse than the bong hit. Actual people could have been hurt in that case.
I think we need to decriminalize the stuff, and there is no way this kid should be banned from swimming.
But if you're Phelps why aren't you a bit more cautious?? I mean, what would it have taken to ask your friends to cool it with the cameras before you take a hit of the campus chronic? These kids know the kind of ridiculously juvenile cultural warrior ethos that grips many of those in power, and if you're a guy with a lot to lose and your friends really are your friends, they would have let him do what needed to be done.
The real crime here is how much of an idiot Phelps was. You would think that after having been hit with a DUI he would keep this kind of shit on the DL. I hope he's learned a lesson at long last.
How is that ridiculous? Dude worked his tail off to become the best ever at something, became widely admired for it, and companies are willing to pay him to associate their product with his image.
How is that any sillier than Halle Berry making millions because she's really pretty and good at playing make believe? Or my company paying me thousands because I'm better than most at playing with computers?
Legalize it!
I tend to agree with this:
http://sportsonmymind.com/2009/02/04/the-real-reefer-madness-why-michael-phelps-must-get-arrested/
It may look like a victimless crime, but can you imagine being next in line after someone with Phelps' lung capacity took a hit? Total bogart.
Posted by elhondo | February 6, 2009 9:22 AM
FTW
@dwhite10701
Great article, thanks for sharing!
Ehh. He's a grown up. Endorsement contracts pretty much say "if you do anything embarrassing, you're gone." He did, he's gone.
Mind you, I'm fine with legalizing marijuana. But I didn't use it at 23, so I don't view it as something 23 year olds just can't possibly avoid doing. (Relatedly I found all the "Chelsea Clinton is just a young kid of 27/28" in the primary to be ridiculous.) Grown up job, grown up salary, grown up consequences for behavior.
I think you should be able to go Right on Red at all stop lights, but that doesn't mean I can evade a fine just because I think the law is stupid, or because many people agree with me. I know what the consequences are for following or evading that particular little rule.
This does rather detract from the whole "pot will turn you into an unmotivated couch potato" myth. Sure, used to excess, it'll have that effect, but so will, gosh, just about every other substance under the sun, if it ends up being your reason to (not) get out of bed in the morning.
The fact that the Best Swimmer in the Universe turns out to be a closet stoner cuts that argument off at the knees.
And for the record, the NFL can also go fuck itself whenever it suspends an athlete for smoking pot.
// I was more startled to learn that people still use bongs. Really? Bongs??
Lick and roll Mikey......white kids *shakes head* //
Well, it IS more efficient, after all...
In terms of extracting psychoactives, neither is very efficient. Any time you burn marijuana, a lot of the THC and cannabinoids are going to get trashed. If you want efficiency, vaporizers or lipid extractions (i.e. pot foods) are going to pull out more of what you want without destroying it at the same time.
It would be beyond awesome if Phelps or someone like him championed the campaign to legalize marijuana. This country and the world will be a much better place when pot is legal.
The truth is world wide and pretty ancient: a hefty minority of the world's people illegally smoke dope, are aware of its shortcomings and pleasures the same way they are aware of the short comings and pleasures of wine. There's a ton of money to be made by law enforcement and those who illegally cultivate and distribute the drug in keeping it illegal, so the hypocrisy about its use use is perennially knee deep and pathetically neurotic.
Read the headline: Rich, gifted, famous 23 year old gets loaded. The sky is blue.
I think the DUI is worse than the bong hit. Actual people could have been hurt in that case.
Me too. I've known people killed by drunk drivers. Pot users, not so much. Again, it says a lot about our culture (and nothing good) that the pot incites an uproar and a DUI is swept under the rug.
How is that any sillier than Halle Berry making millions because she's really pretty and good at playing make believe? Or my company paying me thousands because I'm better than most at playing with computers?
Well, those things are kind of silly, but in those cases people are being paid a lot to do things they are good at.
Michael Phelps doesn't have any expertise on cereal...and nobody believes he does -- it's all just .......ridiculous
Is that right Jordan? You know in today's economy efficiency and providing consumers with more bang for their buck is what will keep businesses afloat. You sound like a knowledgeable individual who's done his research, we could use an enterprising fellow such as yourself at the Pharm.....
"Again, it says a lot about our culture (and nothing good) that the pot incites an uproar and a DUI is swept under the rug."
I think almost everyone will agree that a DUI is 'worse' than smoking pot. I'm pretty sure that if Michael Phelps had just gotten a DUI instead of this incident, the uproar would be even louder. Don't get me wrong, the double standards are ridiculous. But really, the loudest uproar I've seen regarding this incident are the people that have been in an uproar that its not a big deal. I include myself in that group.
I'm boycotting Kellogg...
You know what I hate the most about this whole deal? People making both a hero and a villian out of a guy who just smoked pot.
People implying both, that he is a monster for smoking pot and that he proves that it makes you succesful or something.
It is just one stupid habit.
Stacy, good point about the uproar, though I'm not sure how much it applies to the mainstream press, which I haven't bothered checking out. I'll see if it made "The Soup."
The economy is collapsing around us due to greed, corruption and ineptitude.
This is news? This is a distraction to get you to look away from how badly your retirement plan is getting screwed. And the fact that for the last few months, there have been 500-600,000 job losses per month. And the fact that the dollar is weakening/bearing on total collapse. Banks are failing all around us, but that is only reported late on Fridays or over the weekend so as to not cause too much hysteria. But a bong? That's news.
And we're worrying that someone smoked some marijuana?
Where is the news?
This is disgusting.
No, Kellogg's could choose to ignore this silliness. We're talking about weed, not heroin, for God's sakes. 75% of high school kids smoke the stuff or have at least tried it. This is not 1965.
Maybe I should switch from my usual favorite Special K cinnamon pecan to Post shredded wheat.
That might resonante with this paranoid and hypocritical corporate mindset, whose board of directors probably has at least half a dozen alcoholics on it...
America, grow the hell up!
I've tried it once too.. but I've never exhaled... that's my favorite lin regarding all this and I use it too often. We have to stay on the bright and sunny side of all this. Now that racism is not as funny anymore - we need weed to keep comedians alive.. I mean as a topic not a nutrient.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E49Y48AUTG4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fntiAF3OSts
Robin Williams is right too - it's not like Miachel Phelps is working for NASA or something. He is a freakin swimmer. And thanks to him I've realized that weed is actually illegal in many places.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9xpHjTEb_A
Aubrey Maturin: Does that mean you would approve if TNC or Andrew or you got fired under those circumstances? Would they/you deserve to be fired? This should not be a matter of "what's the prevailing rule", unless you insist that it should be, which I don't think you should unless you approve of that rule.
Deborah: "Grown up job, grown up salary, grown up consequences for behavior." "I think you should be able to go Right on Red at all stop lights, but that doesn't mean I can evade a fine just because I think the law is stupid, or because many people agree with me. I know what the consequences are for following or evading that particular little rule." The point is to change it, if it should be changed. Do you think that the rules and "grown up consequences" should stay as they are?
I'm not sure what either poster meant, but I (almost) like a decision in support for this nonsense more than a morally flat present-based "being a grown-up is deferring to the urine tests" default. Why prefer that position to a recommendation as to what the right situation would be?
Take a look at Kellogg's brand list:
http://www2.kelloggs.com/Product/Product.aspx
Frosted Flakes, Pop Tarts, E.L. Fudge?
Do I have to spell it out?
To follow my own advice: The only thing Phelps "did wrong" was to do something that other people disapprove of. That is the only reason it would be wrong. To say that he deserves bad consequences for this reason, for simply doing something that other people don't approve of, is mistaken - unless we make the decision in the same way that the Taliban would. I hope we have disagreements with them.
Law should not punish people who don't deserve punishment; just law does not. So the law should reflect this.
(Meanwhile, to say he deserves punishment simply because he broke the law... well, they had better not give him anything higher than the lowest punishment for jaywalking or anything in America, which would be what the basic fact of breaking a law would be morally worth. Any greater punishment for an act is just, if it is just, because of the nature of the act and the reasons for the law against it, not merely because "there's a law.")
Non-legal Big Consequences, like editorials that say that Phelps betrayed America by doing this, are merely idiotic in proudly failing to actually evaluate the question carefully, or self-indulgent in happily insisting that their disapproving alone actually makes an action evil and immoral. Columnists are free to say those things. And sponsors are entitled to their cowardice, I suppose.
Carla,
That is why Kellogg's has to be particularly careful.. It is only Joe the Camel and Ronald McDonald who can do whatever they want.
The only reason this is important is to compare the response to Phelps to Black athletes who have found themselves in similarish situations. When it looked like he was going to skate with nothing happening to him, hell yeah, I was pissed. But, now that he's getting some penalties, it's fine.
Hugo - are you reading me the way I think you are reading me? Cos I'm talking about Protect Tha CHILDREN here...
I mean, NOT talking about Protect Tha Children.
kinda choking on my points today.
@GAPeach7
I'm actually a biochemist, bit I think I'll stick to legal employment for now. However, once we grow up and establish some saner drug laws, I can think of a whole mess of interesting research to do. And no, I'm not talking about deciding what the best food to eat after smoking up is.
I'm vexxed that noone here mentions the medical benefits of cannabis!?! not too mention the tax revenue it would generate yearly. This would take us out of this GLOBAL RECESSION PEOPLE!!!!
HELLO!!!!!
How fricking cool would it be to get stoned with Michael Phelps? That would be sweet...
Me too. I've known people killed by drunk drivers. Pot users, not so much. Again, it says a lot about our culture (and nothing good) that the pot incites an uproar and a DUI is swept under the rug.
A friend of mine who was a university residence hall director used to say it this way: "I'd rather have a building of stoners than a building of drunks. The drunks run around breaking shit. But with the stoners, if you toss 'em a bag of potato chips, they're happy."
@TNC
23 year-old kid? Really? More like 23 year old adult. Yes, the situation has been blown out of proportion, but I hate how everyone's acting like "boys will be boys" and "kids and will be kids." I'm 18 and I have more sense than him.
And why does smoking pot have so much more of a social stigma than a DUI? In one situation, you're getting high, in the other you could kill someone. I've never gotten that contradiction.
Somebody above said: "As a cereal/snack company, Kellogg's has such a broad audience they need to reach that even the spectre of scandal that could affect 5% of their consumers is worth a trimming of Phelps. That's 5% of their revenue."
First of all, "as a cereal/snack company," Kellogg's should know its core customer base is pot smokers. Second, if there are even five -- that's the number 5, not 5% -- Kellogg's customers who are genuinely outraged at this and willing to give up the brand, I'd be shocked. I suspect the number of people genuinely outraged about this are about the same as the number of people who make sincere complaints to the FCC when there's a boob on the tv (that's zero, by the way).
"But then he's being paid millions for his role-model-dom and with that are limitations. If you're going to pocket bank based on your sports prowess and nice-guy image, you don't get to do certain things."
This reminds me of when that one Backstreet Boy went to rehab for alcoholism. They started doing girl on the street interviews with their tween fans and they were like "of course we know they drink. They're famous. That's what famous people do: drink and do drugs." Was anyone surprised Phelps smokes pot? Did anyone see any of his interviews? Pothead all the way. In Japan right now, they're having a scandal over sumo wrestlers smoking pot. Surprise, the world's fattest athletes smoke something to give them the munchies. Kids are smarter than we give them credit for. It's the parents in denial who are the morons who need coddling.
Once I grew up enough my parents started talking to my sister and I like adults and equals, they started opening up a lot more. My dad admitted that he was caught in his late teens by the cops at a concert with pot. Now, even after the recession hit him hard, he's still worth in the high six figures (at least) and has sent two kids through first-tier private colleges without financial aid. Of course, he's lucky he's white and he didn't end up doing time that a black guy would have. That's the issues: not only is the war on drugs an attack on everyone's personal liberty regardless of race, it turns into another excuse to lock up black and Latino men. All the while, we export violence to countries like Mexico and Colombia where underground gangs run the coke market while Marlboro and Miller and Starbucks pay taxes and avoid shooting at each other because they're drugs are legal.
rikyrah said: The only reason this is important is to compare the response to Phelps to Black athletes who have found themselves in similarish situations. When it looked like he was going to skate with nothing happening to him, hell yeah, I was pissed. But, now that he's getting some penalties, it's fine."
In the words of TNC, my reaction to this whole thing was "meh." I couldn't really work up any indignation against Phelps for smoking, and I couldn't work up any disgust at his sponsors for dropping him. Agreeing with rikyrah, I think he should be as punished as any mega famous athlete who gets more money simply for being famous. Take away a cool million or two. But even if his sponsors decided not to give him a financial slap on the wrist, I still would've been okay. Just because they treat one famous white athlete similarly to the way they treat every famous black one doesn't mean they're going to start prosecuting (and stop persecuting) black athletes fairly. Two wrongs don't make them right for the over-zealousness, and it shouldn't appease anyone. imho.
My favorite part is the inane news stories that include a paragraph at the end that mentions that Phelps is part of some extra-stringent anti-doping program, like it has anything to do with this. They're both illegal drugs, so they must be the same!
re: the title of this post:
Andrew linked an SNL sketch that was of the same mind.
A quote: "If you're at a party and you see Michael Phelps hitting a bong and your first thought isn't 'hey i get to party with Michael Phelps' but 'hey i should take a picture and sell it to the tabloids' then you need to take a long look at yourself, cause you're a dick!"