USA Swimming suspends Phelps

[Naya Rivera]

First he lost a major sponsor, then he got suspended.

The Olympic great was suspended from competition for three months by USA Swimming, the latest fallout from a photo that showed him inhaling from a marijuana pipe.

The sport’s national governing body also cut off its financial support to Phelps for the same three-month period, effective immediately.

“This is not a situation where any anti-doping rule was violated, but we decided to send a strong message to Michael because he disappointed so many people, particularly the hundreds of thousands of USA Swimming member kids who look up to him as a role model and a hero,” the Colorado Springs-based federation said in a statement...

Read more: http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ap-phelpssuspended&prov=ap&type=lgns
Read more here too: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug=txmichaelphelpsmarijuana&prov=st&type=lgns

 

[Scarlet Devil]

XD Endorsment PHAIL

so what, he wanted to get high.... he still won the medals, right? lol

 

[Kiratwig]

wow it looks like every athletes doing it now.

 

[Fig]

“This is not a situation where any anti-doping rule was violated, but we decided to send a strong message to Michael because he disappointed so many people, particularly the hundreds of thousands of USA Swimming member kids who look up to him as a role model and a hero,” the Colorado Springs-based federation said in a statement...

This is so many shades of wrong.

The federation should be suspended for acting under the influence of soccer moms.

 

[ShinyFlareon]

I am...disappointed, to say the least.

 

[Ben Cousins]

I doubt the pot is making him swim any faster.

 

[TTEchidna]

If he smoked tobacco, though, he'd be A-OK.

Isn't that funny? What'll kill you is legal, what'll get you high is not.

 

[h1tm0nl33]

Chris Rock said it best the reason its illegal is because we don't make the good stuff

 

[Satoshi-chan]

If he smoked tobacco, though, he'd be A-OK.

Yeah, and if drank alcohol to excess as well, that would also be more damaging, but apparently acceptable.

Also, I find it pretty sad that he has now been suspended. He could have easily denied the photos and said that they were photoshopped and many people would have believed him. Instead he actually admitted to it, stated that it was nobody's fault but his own, and I feel that takes a lot more character than saying "nuh-uh, that ain't me." To suspend someone for that... and even state that he did not violate any anti-doping rules... is insane.

Also, I feel that marijuana should be legalized anyway.

 

[GuitarHero]

Poor guy probably just needed to let go of some tension. Its true he is a rather iconic role model but I think the swimming team went overboard.

Edit:
But you gotta wonder where he was smoking at for someone to be be able to get a picture of him. I mean, if your as big as this guy is and you want to smoke a joint you better do it in your house, maybe the bathroom or something, not somewhere a paparazzi could photograph you.

 

[Evil Raichu]

so what, he wanted to get high.... he still won the medals, right? lol

The so what is that whether or not you feel it SHOULD be legalized, the fact remains that marijuana is ILLEGAL. Micheal Phelps getting high makes it seem like it's okay for the kids that do it already.

I think he should be arrested, but I voted no because I don't think he actually will be.

Here's a hot tip. Obey the law.

 

[$aturn¥oshi]

Bloody crying shame!!! That's what I have to say. He makes one mistake and everyone wants to nail him to the wall. Make an example out of him. I may be anti-drug, but I'm not about lynching people that do them. Especially a minor one like this. I'm just glad he gets to keep his medals.

Like I've said before, the only performances pot enhances are sleeping and eating.

 

[Jeff]

They said on the radio this morning that he's getting cut off by Kellogg's, even though his contract is ready to expire and he isn't getting much money out of them anyway, and the U.S. swim team is suspending him for three months even though he isn't doing anything with them in the next three months. It sounds like he's getting off easy.

 

[$aturn¥oshi]

Easy. Except for all the bad-mouthing he has to endure.

 

[mr3urious]

Let's hope he learns from his mistakes.

 

[Fig]

They said on the radio this morning that he's getting cut off by Kellogg's, even though his contract is ready to expire and he isn't getting much money out of them anyway, and the U.S. swim team is suspending him for three months even though he isn't doing anything with them in the next three months. It sounds like he's getting off easy.

A three month suspension for somethign that doesn't involve violating the rules of swimming USA is NOT getting off easy.

 

[Jeff]

But he violated the law. Anyone else would be getting punished legally by now, but not him, he just gets a slap on the wrist. I can see a three-month suspension being a problem right before the Olympics or some other major event, but to my knowledge there aren't any significant events going on in the next three months. This won't even impact his training much since I'm sure he has personal coaches, he is Michael Phelps after all.

 

[$aturn¥oshi]

He has events this Summer. The suspension cuts down on the time he can practice and compete with others before then.

 

[Fig]

Last word is the sheriff office is investigating the incident. All that he has gotten SO FAR is a ridiculous suspension thanks to the soccer moms mentality of America.

As for violating the law, hah. It will be a cold day in hell before I support anyone being tried under the ridiculous pot laws of America. (or Canada, but canada - well, Quebec at least - has the common sense to tell its police "Uh, yeah, don't bother").

And if you seriously thinkg everyone who ever smoked pot get legal action taken against them...LOL! There aren't enough courts, enough prisons, enough lawyers and enough policemen in the world to even begin to cover that so-called "crime". Too bad for the moron majority.

Finally, the only reason anybody even knows Phelps smoked is because he's a celebrity; if he was Jeff Six-Pack (Joe's a celebrity now thanks to John and Sarah), nobody would even know he smoked pot, because there wouldn't be the lowest form of human life (otherwise known as papparazi) trying to snap the most embarassing pictures of him all the time. They're the monsters here, not Phelps. So yeah. In this case, two wrongs do add up to the right result (Phelps getting away with something tens if not hundreds of millions get away with each year, as they should), so yeah, no problem on my part with two wrongs.

 

[$aturn¥oshi]

^ Exactly. That picture was only posted because he smoked the Olympics this past year and got notoriety.

(No pun intended...)