"Michael came to town like a bull in a China shop," a source who spent time with Phelps in Columbia, S.C. tells Star. "He was partying out of control from the moment he got here to the moment he left."In town to visit a University of South Carolina sorority girl he was seeing, Michael instead "ended up just getting wasted every night," says the source.
At a keg party on Nov. 6, the witness describes Michael as "loud and obnoxious and slamming beers from the get-go. He was definitely the life of the party as every girl wanted a piece of him and every guy wanted to be his best buddy. He was eating it up.
"At one point someone asked him if he wanted to smoke some weed. Michael didn't hesitate and headed to a small back room, where he was immediately handed a big red bong. He grabbed the bong and a lighter and ripped a huge smelly bong rip."
The source continues, "He knew exactly what he was doing. He looked just as natural with a bong in his hands as he does swimming the backstroke."
The next night Michael hit a bar in Columbia. "Michael was holding court, throwing back shots of booze two at a time, and pouring drinks to every cute girl," adds the source.
"If he was there to visit his girlfriend, there certainly was no sign of it that night. All the celebrity attention is making him really cocky, and he's going to end up getting burned because of it."
Star
POTP!!
Tina Turner photos
Sophia Loren photos
Bobby Jones photos
You - whoever you may be - are an incredibly ignorant purveyor of your 'art'- get over your jealousies and insecurities and take a small step off of your high horse and give the specimen some space -- if this blog is your life-equivalent to his record setting gold medal procurement, then bravo - you are truly making a difference in the world. Get a life - but more importantly, get a grasp on what is pertinent to our more pressing issues - what a waste of a URL!
ReplyDeleteThat's a serious toke he's taking:
ReplyDeleteMichael Phelps Smoking Weed
Who cares? So you proved he's a kid.
ReplyDeleteYeah once again this shows people who use drugs are not all bad people and as a matter of fact some do incredible record setting things!!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like every proffesional athelete to me. so stop making a big deal about it
ReplyDeleteYet another celebrity who thinks they are above the law. Haven't stars learn from past mistakes? I love it and would love to see more get caught to show how they abuse they millions. And know he will be normal again.
ReplyDeleteHe is not going to be banned from swimming. In fact nothing will happen at
ReplyDeleteAll to jeopardize his career or earning potential, it will probably get him more money in the long run. Keep
Doing what you do mike, keep living the dream, you deserve it.
Im sure that was some good kill. Chief up brother you did nothing wrong, hell weed would be legal anyway if the government could find a way to tax it so they could make the majority of the profit from it. If the Gov't cant make money off something it going to be illegal. Again hit all the kill you want Mike, your a young man party however you want and you dont have to apologize to anyone for your actions.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, does this at all matter? he's a kid, have fun michael, i would be proud of you and all your accomplishments if you were my kid, and my kid smokes a little pot too.
ReplyDeletegive the guy a break! wounds like this "witness" is just jealous. he visited a college and he drank a lot, and smoked at least once. sounds ok to me. didnt catch any legal trouble, and if it werent for this jerk taking a picture he'd be totally in the clear.
ReplyDeletebest of luck to you michael phelps!
really who cares if he smokes pot, how bout we pay more attention to the starving children in the world
ReplyDeleteWhoever let that picture get published? They ought to be ashamed of themselves. Michael let some steam off after years of training. This boy is human-for God's sakes. I hope he or she is happy-by letting these pictures get out they have made a serious dent in someones future.
ReplyDeletephelps smokes big blunts
ReplyDeleteThere are people dying in this world from things like malnutrition cancer etc. and don't even bother to lift a finger for these people but when a celebrity is taking a bong hit all of a sudden people go out of their way to criticize and judge them. If people had the same passion to try to help out those in need instead of wasting their time being jealous that they can't get more pussy than the greatest olympian who ever lived, the world would be a much better place to live in. We could be saving lives but instead we talk about this stupid shit. Smoke on Phelps.
ReplyDeleteI was gonna swim a lap, but then i got high...
ReplyDeleteI was gonna go and take a nap, then I got high....
My breaststroke's all messed up, and I know why....
Hey hey!!
'Cause I got high..'cause i got high..'cause i got high!!!
La da da da da da da!!!
Reason #145678 why marijuana really isn't as bad as the war on drugs makes it out to be. Performance enhancing weed? hehe, but in all seriousness, it was pot---it wasn't like he was snorting lines off a urinal for God's sake...
ReplyDeleteHell yes! Get off dude's case. Legalize weed and we won't have to look at this dumb shit. It's no big deal. If dude can throw down shots all night and smoke pot and still win gold medals then who cares? It's not like he's using performance enhancers. I officially love Michael Phelps now. I honestly thought he was probably a square. Like one of those d-bags who is super uptight etc. Nah...he's obviously cool. I'm on the bandwagon now.
ReplyDeleteI dont smoke weed but I wish society would quit demonizing this drug... I think its worse he was slamming beers and being all crazy at some frat party. 95% of people that went to college have been to a party like this. Please step back and take perspective on this issue before you ostracize michael phelps...
ReplyDeletehey no wonder he eats so much- always got the munchies
ReplyDeletelmao dave, that's hilarious
ReplyDelete"I dont smoke weed but I wish society would quit demonizing this drug... " I totally agree...kind of like the government-funded hollywood production of the movie Reefer Madness where people smoke weed and end up going around terrorizing and killing people...are you kidding me? Show me 1 single incident of someone getting high and going on a killing rampage and i'll eat my own words
from personal experience it jut makes you want to laugh, eat and sleep........what's so wrong about that?
What does alcohol do? In small amounts it's fine, however in today's world binge drinking leads to anger, abuse and, in many cases, violence.
Which is the worse evil? I'll let you decide
-Rob
phelps is a dousche bag and i hope this picture sucks his life into the shitter. that guy sucks...he thinks hes hot shit becuase people think hes cool once every four years, but really hes just a terd with down syndrome
ReplyDelete^^learn how to spell and perhaps people will value your opinion
ReplyDeleteHe works hard and he plays hard - good for him.
ReplyDeleteListen everyone, how proud did i make this country when i won those 8 medals at the beijing olympics. well let me tell you all a little something. I dont train for anything. im a prodigy. everything comes to me naturally and as a gold medalist i might as well tell everyone since the truth is bound to come out sooner or later. The reason i do so well is because I smoke approximatly a pound of green crack every week. half the money i make is selling the stuff. anyways the secret to my success is that i stop smoking before my meets so i have the endurance of a horse.. im sorry for the dissapointment to all who now look at me with shame, but the truth is that i love weed and ill never stop smoking it. SORRY AMERICA
ReplyDeleteIt seems funny to me that even the government is jumping on the bashing of Michael Phelps for the simple fact that America's hero took part in something that goes against its policies. The fact of the matter is he won 8 gold medals while swimming against the world's best and America loved him for it. If he wants to smoke weed then who are we to say that it should be the downfall of his career. This is a common them to our country these days, the rise and the fall of those who can entertain. The building up of and tearing down of people who are in the public eye.
ReplyDeleteMichael Phelps is just a famous face that everyone knows that is being smeared out of ignorance and out of date law. As was proven by the prohibition, people will get get what they want if they want it bad enough. Regulate it, tax it, and free up the judicial system, call me crazy, but that sounds like a step forward to me...
we got a blk pres. now so im sure that in a couple of yrs weed will be legal and this will all go away...
ReplyDeletefinally...mike vick is not the only dumb ath...everyone knows what american boys do at parties. Their ignorant parents have no clue. It's not the hip-hoppers that destroy america. It's the wanta be's.
ReplyDeleteI love this picture!!
ReplyDeletePhelps=douche. Slow down on banging strippers and bartenders.
ReplyDeleteThis is not the first time he's been in trouble. Didnt he get a DUI? I guess since he's the all-american great kid the media has forgotten about that. They'll go ahead and support the throwing into jail of a guy who didnt put any humans at risk (vick). Love his quick apology too. What a human corporation.
ReplyDeletehow do we know that's him in the picture?
ReplyDeleteBecause he admited to it and did not deny that it was him!
ReplyDeletehe needs to quit as an american athelete...he is a HORRIBLE individual and hope learns his lesson of being BANNED FROM THE OLYMICS
ReplyDeletewow....i cnt believe this. if he keeps this up his career is gunna go down the crapper. i wud really h8 2 c tht-especially w/ the athlete bn MICHAEL PHELPS!!!
ReplyDeletewoooo another awesome talented person wasting his life for drugs, booze, and girls.......have fun
ReplyDeleteThis is just probably his medicine. He may be constipated, have insomnia, anxiety. In California,these are all conditions that marijuana can be used to treat. It's really not a drug, it's medicine........and if you believe that load of crap!
ReplyDeleteIts been said that Phelps said "I'm sorry" about a DUI at age 19 and that blew over. Now here at 23 and $100 million in endorsements at stake, he's still saying "I'm sorry" - he had better get his head together before he's really sorry. I must say the media is really blasting him, however, he had better watch his step!!!!
ReplyDeleteBig F***king Sh** he smoked weed so what. Yes it is illegal but did he get caught by our lovely police enforcing the law NO so WTF . Then you got people on here that SAYS I never used drugs my whole life. So how do you know anything about this subject if you never used it before . Heck Willie Nelson smoked the SH*& on top of the white house. Everyone has been to a party where someone was toking somewhere if not you just thought you was at a party and if you anit YOU NEED TO GET A LIFE ans STFU
ReplyDeleteWho cares
ReplyDeleteMichael Phelps's time is over. Some role model he turned out to be. If I had paid him for sponsorship, I'd sue him for my money back. We pay these dumb asses big money to entertain us and provide our children with role-models. I hope he lives the rest of his meaningless life in shame.
ReplyDeleteRole model role model role model that all I hear .Why dont some of you PARENTS step up and be your kids role model. That way you so called parents do have to worry about what goes on out here with these athletes. So step up to the plate, get off the computer and DO SOMETHING with you kid to be THE PERFECT ROLE MODEL since thats all you can comment on. Makes me sick bunch of lazy a$$ parents
ReplyDeletei am disappointed mostly because i am a very competitive swimmer and i look up to michael when i am having trouble making it through my training. Nut he is a 23 year old man who does normal things and i know amazing athletes who have done worse things. But Phelps has had these problems before and he has had problems with women before like the women he has now. He should understand that he is a role model and doesn't want to flush all he has worked for down the drain. This could cause him to lose his endorsements and much support. While this one time wont hurt his performance he has done these things before. As a eye witness to Phelps smoking says " he seemed like he had done it millions of times before. He grabbed a lighter and went ahead." If this continues it may hurt him in many ways like late nights before training, medical issues if prolonged use, and the fact of losing his endorsements. But he is under a lot of pressure and when he is allowed to get out on his own time away from practice he does what he thinks is fun and since he is not out a ton he may not realize what you can do and can't do without getting caught. I am disapointed and wish this had never happened
ReplyDeleteC'mon people, who cares...marijuana should be legalized! There's other issues we need to worry about. Michael Phelps is even cooler to me now!
ReplyDeleteI love the comment, spin spin spin. So at 23 its ok but at 43 its wrong? How stupid is this guy? You know people are watching you and everyone has a camera in their cell phone. Why would you risk millions for a bong hit unless you thing you are above the law? I love this youthful excuse. He got caught doing something illegal pure and simple. I hope the bong hit was worth the millions he could lose in potential endorsements.
ReplyDeleteHe won't be banned from swimming. Nothing is going to happen to him. He'll lose some money. That's it. He's a guy who's trained crazily for 4 years of his life, missing out on everything. Cut him some slack. It's weed. Did he harm himself or anyone else? Please compared to the retarded athletes out there this is nothing. And to the person who compared him to Michael Phelps, you're stupid. How can you compare weed with a dog abuser and killer? Get over it people. He smoked weed. How many of you actually have?
ReplyDeleteWhy can he smoke weed but ricky Williams cant. I think thats a lil messed up
ReplyDeletewho cares honestly. the man won more gold medals than anyone else. ever. let him relax with a nice rip from that beautiful piece.
ReplyDeleteHAHAHA....leave it to us at the Uniersity of South Carolina to get everyone drunk and stoned. Thats what he gets for hanging out with frat dudes and sorority sluts!!!!
ReplyDeleteI didn't really care for him before...SOUTH CAROLINA BLOWS! COME TO THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE!
ReplyDeleteSo what! Big deal. Don't crusify Michael for something that the father of our country did.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, George Washington owned the largest
hemp farm in all the 13 colonies. Look at the paintings of George,he looks buggered-up to me.The Declaration of Independence is printed on hemp paper. I think our government should reform the laws on marijuana. Randel Hearst is the main reason this drug is illegal. Why don't we really worry about something that matters, world hunger,global warming, and put the bastards on wall street in jail.
He's young, he parties, blah blah blah... Who cares? It's a right of passage for thousands... I am just surprised he wasn't smart enough to keep away from the cameras with his celebrity status and all... now THAT was the stupid part... Hey, no cameras in the bong room, dude!!!! DUH!
ReplyDeleteAny guy that can win 14 Olympic gold medals can smoke all the dope he wants as far as I'm concerned.
ReplyDeleteAmerica goes apeshit over somebody hitting a bong yet the Declaration of Independence is printed on hemp... that's our All-American Hypocrisy at work gentlemen.
ReplyDeleteIf anything his DUI is a far bigger issue than smoking a bowl in the privacy of his own residence. It's only marijuana, get over it.
Marijuana is greeeeeeat for the soul. Read what I think about this here http://www.reeferblogizzle.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteAs a human being he is not perfect, non of us are, more so he is under extreme pressure to deliver perfection in every aspect of his life, mistakes do happen, God only knows what you all have done.
ReplyDeleteanyone who thinks michael is in any way shape or form bad for doing this is a liberal uptight dirty buttplug who needs to hit that bong as well
ReplyDelete^$~4*/2*0~$^
FREE THE WEED!!
ReplyDeleteThe person who posted the pic was obviously JEALOUS and IMMATURE!! Michael is young and is still human and bound to make A MISTAKE. He is not perfect nor is anyone of us. He was also tested BEFORE every swim meet for the Olympics so lets not FORGET that!!! He deserves to live HIS life the way he wants and he isn't being paid to be PERFECT!!!
ReplyDeleteOMG would u dumbasses just let that shit go!!!! how old is he????? were all young and someones obviously being a huge HATER bc their jealous of his success. Everyone makes mistakes ppl do the stuff he's doing everyday, but bc he's well known when he does it its like a freakin deadly sin! NO! stop fuckin hatin & let this man live his life how he wants.....yall fuckin irritating i swear. & then ppl on here talkin bout they hate him & hope his career ends over this.....that sounds like a fuckin HATER to me!
ReplyDeleteThe person that took the pic is worthless and only jealous cause he never put forth the effort like phelps did. Phelps has trained his a$$ off for years training for all those gold medals he's accomplished. While most people were partying in high school he was swimming laps. I'm sure he was training before school and after school and any chance he got. He deserves to hang and party and live the life he missed training to be where he is. I guess that explains his 12000 calorie a day intake:) lol If he ever came and partied with me I'd have him blazed all day and show him what it's like to just sit back and relax. For those random Vick supporters I keep hearing. They should throw him in a dogfighting ring and let the dogs have at him! Now thats a crime that should be punished!
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me how bottom feeders can make a living out of gossip. Who was the loser who sold this photo to the other losers who printed it? Let's wake up America (myself included)! Let's put the trash these hypocrites produce where it belongs. In the recycle bin!
ReplyDeleteThe "source" in this article sounds like a total dweeb. Are you just jealous of a guy that is celebrating his amazing feat.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you are totally making your hometown sound like a really boring hick town. Is Columbia SC full of jealous dorky guys that are afraid of a guy that has actually acomplished something invading their turf? If so, I would hate to ever spend any time in Columbia SC.
Is Columbia SC where the University of South Carolina is? If so, did you know that their mascot is the Cocks? Sounds like their students are also a bunch of cocks. What kind of stick in the mud would take a picture of this guy at a party and then publish the picture? Only a Cock.
ReplyDeleteHere's what he SHOULD have said...
ReplyDeletehttp://klogtheblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/letter-to-my-concerned-fans-from.html
this is so crazy do you guys not realize that he is human!!!!! you guys can start saying stuff about him when you have say you are perfect and have never done anything wrong! i know i have made plenty of mistakes and yeah i have to pay the price for it but i have done much worse and it wasnt even close to this big of a deal!!! you seriously need to remember that he is human first and a swimmer second he can do what he wants he isnt hurting anyone else! let him live his life the way he wants and you can live yours the way you want STOP TRYING TO TAKE OVER HIS LIFE!!!!!
ReplyDeletethat is one monster drag
ReplyDeleteim trying to convince my parents to let me smoke now because it will better my swimming career
- - A small trade off in return for stepping into the role of "US Olympic Athlete" - the understanding that you are representing the USA, and absolutely expected to act sportsmans like during competition and conduct yourself in a responsible dignified manner. Period.
ReplyDeletePhelps is AMAZING! so whaaat a picture got out from when he smoked, get over it. He's young! Seriously grow up and get off his balls. With this picture out doesnt change my opinion of him one bit, as for the person who took and released it, WOW....grow up. live your OWN life and stop worrying about others, yaaaa jealous bitttch.
ReplyDeleteWe have the highest mortality rate, the poorest healthcare system, and the shittiest educational system in the western world. Parts of Europe have done research and adopted marijuana as a safer alternative than alcohol. I am a pre-med student and have unprecedented access to journals published by high level scholars across the world and there are NO statistics on deaths related to marijuana, but most people just listen to the anti-marijuana ads placed by the US government, while tens of thousands of people are killed annually by alcohol and tobacco. Where are the "above the influence alcohol commercials?" We turn a blind eye to the world in Iraq and draw our attention to 1 in million Americans who smoke a little marijuana occasionally. Do your research America, and fucking concentrate your efforts on more important issues at hand.
ReplyDeleteHow do you expect him to eat 10,000 calories a day? The only reason people are upset is because they can't win 8 gold medals and smoke weed doing it. Why can't this be turned into a positive thing for marijuana advocacy? Instead it is a "Oops I got caught, sorry. Even though I'm really not." It clearly is not performance enhancing drug and drinking heavily is more detrimental to his physical ability anyways. Get over it conservative, ignorant people.
ReplyDeleteyou people are so full of it. Your little hero gets caught and everyone wants to laugh it off like it's a joke. But if it were some other international olympic star you you would want their medals stripped. Look how the media treated track and field phenom Usain Bolt. Carl Lewis was quick to say..."he has got to be on steroids". The media convicted the man. Ohhhh...but not a hint about maybe our little hero was pumping something up. You all are a bunch of hypocrites.
ReplyDeletephelps blazes it fat
ReplyDeleteget the fuck over it,hes gunna smoke pot either way so all you motherfuckers saying weed is bad
HIT A FUCKING BLUNT
then tell me ur perspective on weed
at least hes hitting a roor
a-b 1/2
rep.
hmmm...I think maybe Amy Winehouse is now single and looking for a party bud just like him....I ain't goin to Rehab...no no no
ReplyDeletewow its weed who freakin cares that dude busted his ass for two years and was clean durin the olympics hell if i was there i woulda paid for his weed that man deserves it fuck all the people who think its bad its a damn plant its an herb hell u dont cook it up in a kitchen cigarettes are worse for you and that lady of the view needs to be shot or sumthin get the fuck over it people
ReplyDeleteGet your vote out there. http://PotHeadPhelps.com
ReplyDeleteas a swimmer, i'd know myself that he needed some kick back time. you work hard for years for a few minutes of race time...it sucks sometimes! cut the guy some slack, you thought he was amazing a couple months ago.
ReplyDeleteI love to see mike hittin the bong. He has always been an idol to me and now that this happens, he's my hero.(next to Bob Marley)Goes to show that weed doesnt ruin a good athlete.
ReplyDeleteThe person who took this picture needs to do the world a favor and die!!!
ReplyDeleteEveryone should just leave Michael Phelps alone and give him some privacy. And I would love to hear President Obama come out in support of Micheal Phelps on this situation.
ReplyDeleteHis behavior has actually led to a whole new slew of endorsements you know.
ReplyDeleteCheck it:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/warren-holstein/top-twenty-new-michael-ph_b_163184.html
It was stated on the CBS Morning Show today that there hasn't been enough stink raised about the Phelps bong hit. Okay. Forgive me for not giving homage to a bunch of whining special interest groups who want him brought justice or wish to obscure his image permanently; forgive me also noticing that he did NOT test positive for the evil weed during the Olympic games. Let's look at the BIGGER picture here... CBS news very clearly stated that marijuana is a $30 Billion dollar a year industry while mentioning the Phelps story. So... if that's the case, let's take a look at our national deficit(in the Trillions)legalize marijuana and tax it, double production for export and within a few years this country would be debt free. Oh wait, let's milk the next 30 generations of tax payers to death trying to pay it off. Michael, wherever you are... you are much greater than those who wish to obscure your name. Don't change a thing!
ReplyDeleteI think he made a mistake like we all do. Temptation gets everyone to do something. Are we going back to prosecute our last president and our current president. Hate the sin not the sinner. Pray for God to help him through this.
ReplyDeleteLook people, the bottom line is Michael Phelps should know better than to party with strangers. If he wants to hit the bong or do cocaine here in South Carolina with a bunch of strange college kids, then he has it coming for him. A person of his stature should experiment with drugs behind close doors where pictures can't be taken. Doing the drugs wasn't his mistake - he is a kid and to experiment is normal. His mistake was doing it like he was any other dude in Five Points that night....which he is not. Sorry, 8 gold medals makes you different from the rest of us, and he should realize that.
ReplyDeleteYeah? So what? Our president admitted to using blow and our previous president was an alcoholic. Maybe he'll get nominated for TIMES person of the year now. All this issue does for me is make it abundantly clear who I would and wouldn't be friends with. And yes, it's everyone looking down their noses at him.
ReplyDeleteIE: The Anonymous Post at 1:16
"Yet another celebrity who thinks they are above the law. Haven't stars learn from past mistakes? I love it and would love to see more get caught to show how they abuse they millions. And know he will be normal again."
Shut up! Stop being such a twat. You just wish you were cool enough to be invited to a party where people actually had fun in college.
Legalize it.
ReplyDeleteThe worlds lucky im not famous
ReplyDeleteMichael Phelps is the man. and to all yall up-tight goody-goody bastards who said "he thinks he is above the law", then yall are wrong. michael phelps doesn't think he is above the law maybe this guy just wants to smoke a little pot after sacrificing his social life by training his balls off for several years to achieve what he did this summer. I mean really... who cares? he can do what he wants, its not like he got caught. yall sissies need to loosen up and get off the nipple. He will not lose any endorsement, and will NOT be banned from swimming. If he got banned from swimming, it would make the sport even more unpopular... he makes it fun to watch! he basically owned the world media this summer after his performance at the '08 Olympics. it makes me absolutely sick to read people flip out over a little marijuana, yall act like he snorted a line of anthrax. get off his nuts . -WH
ReplyDeleteMAN!!! whoever was the snitch runnin his mouth about what poor Micheal was doin, was probably mad as hell HE couldn't hit the bong wid Micheal that nite so he SNITCHED!!! all i gotta say is MICHEAL, COME OVER TO MY CRIB, N HIT THE F**KING BONG WID ME!!!!
ReplyDeletehummm.. I see a bong.. I guess... I see what looks like water.. But.. Where there is no smoke there is no fire.. Where is the smoke? Looks like the guy may have put his lips on to a bong, or something of the sort.. And that is it. I see no fire or smoke. Picture is a farce. The guy is doing nothing wrong. It is provocative, but I see no smoke. And..Where there is no smoke.. There is no fire..............
ReplyDeleteO yea.. Just another observation, that must be a brand new bong with brand new water.. There is a ton of light behind the bong or what looks like a bong, and.. From what I can see.. That is a super clean piece of glass or plastic. He must have been the 1st guy ever to hold it or even put his lips on it. Also..It looks over full on water. Not use able with so much water. All you will do is suck in water. Oh.. I forgot.. The guy is a swimmer.. Humm.. He must like sucking in water.. Hey !!! That is what he is doing.... Sucking in water !!! The guy is hooked on clean water!!!! That must be it. Because.. He sure is not firing anything up there from what I can see. Too clean, water too clean.. And no fire or smoke.. Not at all. You have to be high to see any fire or smoke in that picture. Maybe there are other pictures to prove he is a dope smoker.. But not this picture. The guy is smoking nothing in this picture....
ReplyDeleteSo what, he responsibly consumes cannabis just like lots of adults do..
ReplyDeleteso what if he smokes!! I don't even think he needed to say im sorry. This whole situation is just being over dramatized. people smoke, who the hell cares.
ReplyDeleteI will not say what Michael Phelps did was wrong, immature and nor a poor demonstration of judgment and character. I do not approve of his smoking pot, if in fact he did, just as I was disappointed and did not approve of his DUI a few years ago. However, 50 million Americans just elected a President, who, according to his own admission used illegal drugs.
ReplyDeleteNearly three decades ago, Barack Obama stood out on the small campus of Occidental College in Los Angeles for his eloquence, intellect and activism against apartheid in South Africa. But Mr. Obama, then known as Barry, also joined in the party scene.
Years later in his 1995 memoir, he mentioned smoking “reefer” in “the dorm room of some brother” and talked about “getting high.” Before Occidental, he indulged in marijuana, alcohol and sometimes cocaine as a high school student in Hawaii, according to the book. He made “some bad decisions” as a teenager involving drugs and drinking, Senator Obama, now President Obama, told high school students in New Hampshire during the primaries.
Mr. Obama’s admissions are rare for a politician (his book, “Dreams From My Father,” was written before he ran for office.) They briefly became a campaign issue in December, 2007, when an adviser to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mr. Obama’s chief Democratic rival (and now his Secretary of State for the United States), suggested that his history with drugs would make him vulnerable to Republican attacks if he became his party’s nominee.
Mr. Obama, of Illinois, has never quantified his illicit drug use or provided many details. He wrote about his two years at Occidental, a predominantly white liberal arts college, as a gradual but profound awakening from a slumber of indifference that gave rise to his activism there and his fears that drugs could lead him to addiction or apathy, as they had for many other black men.
Mr. Obama’s account of his younger self and drugs, though, significantly differs from the recollections of others who do not recall his drug use. That could suggest he was so private about his usage that few people were aware of it, that the memories of those who knew him decades ago are fuzzy or rosier out of a desire to protect him, or that he added some writerly touches in his memoir to make the challenges he overcame seem more dramatic.
In more than three dozen interviews, friends, classmates and mentors from his high school and Occidental recalled Mr. Obama as being grounded, motivated and poised, someone who did not appear to be grappling with any drug problems and seemed to dabble only with marijuana.
No, I did not vote for Barrack Obama; however, he is still the President of the United States, my President, and our President! I watched the campaign for his presidency just as intensively as I watched Michael Phelps win 8 medals during the Beijing Summer Olympics. While I do not agree with what President Obama did in his youth, nor many of the things he is now doing as President, the same holds true for me concerning some of the behaviors of Michael Phelps that have surfaced from time to time. That being said, I respect Barrack Obama as our President and I respect Michael Phelps for his accomplishments as the greatest swimmer and Olympian in history.
By the way, I am not proud of every single thing I have done throughout my life but I try to live an honest and good life. I am sure almost every person on the face of the earth have done things that they are not proud of and that you now have misgivings about. Give Michael Phelps and President Obama a chance. While they may be role models and celebrities, they are, after all, just human beings.
I fully concur with Ricky Hampton’s comments recently in his editorial in The Flint Journal and find it commendable that he did not condemn Michael Phelps as so many Americans have. Other web sites have hundreds of comments stating that what Michael Phelps did was okay to screaming that he should be stripped of all 14 Olympic Medals. Others go on to say that Michael Phelps should be prosecuted in South Carolina: I was born in SC and thank God I don’t live there anymore if that is all a sheriff has to do is ponder arresting a 23 year old celebrity based upon a photograph, that for all intents and purposes, could have been modified. If we go to that extreme in this country, shouldn’t we impeach President Obama for his own admissions of illegal drugs? We have far more important issues facing this great nation than to worry about what Michael Phelps is doing in his free time. Thanks for listening, America.
P.S. Michael, listen to the great advice of Ricky Hampton. Remember, you are not some run of the mill, Joe Blow in America. You are in our nation’s limelight in the same way Barrack Obama is. Thank you for making America so proud of you during the Olympics. Now, go forth and continue to make us proud. We all make mistakes: Do not let your past determine who you are, but rather allow you past to determine who you will become.
Mike C., Kansas City