Michael Phelps scandal a useless preoccupation
Austin L. Bowyer
Issue date: 2/25/09 Section: Opinion
The Michael Phelps marijuana scandal! To be honest, I, along with much of the country, couldn't care less about this young athlete's participation in "illegal" activities which frequent our college campuses. I agree with the editorial that was written two weeks ago which reminded us that these superstars we place on pedestals are still human and fall victim to the same temptations we do. There are a countless number of athletes who blatantly and ignorantly violate the simple laws we have in place, like no drinking and driving (Charles Barkley), no dog fighting (Michael Vick) and NO shooting oneself in the leg (Plaxico Burress). These all warranted legal action, but is it the same for having a photo of you with a bong taken while you're at a college party in South Carolina?
The answer is no. The photo, which was originally published in a British newspaper, prompted the South Carolina police to take action against Phelps. Sheriff Leon Lott explained that there wasn't enough evidence to charge Phelps, according to CNN.com. How could we let such a criminal slip through the system? Easy! It is a photo of him with a bong, nothing more. I could see taking legal action if he was photographed with four kilos of cocaine and pointing his unregistered nine mm at the camera, but he's not. Instead he is standing with a piece of blown glass. The most you could get would be paraphernalia charges, maybe, but that's too frivolous for our thirst for blood. What is important is how the news outlets bombarded us with useless characters that have or at one point had something to do with marijuana and/or Phelps.
The local police earned their 15 minutes of fame by formally stating they don't have enough information to warrant prosecution. They will never have so many cameras and microphones in front of them ever again. The only people to have benefited from this whole debacle are a small group of physiologists in South Carolina and NetFlix for having a well-placed ad on CNN and CNN.com. The rest of us were subjected to hearing Kathie Lee and Hoda explain how disappointed they were with Phelps on the "Today Show," instead of being informed of substantial news, like the situation in Darfur or the United Arab Emirates visa denial for the Israeli tennis player Shahar Perr.
The answer is no. The photo, which was originally published in a British newspaper, prompted the South Carolina police to take action against Phelps. Sheriff Leon Lott explained that there wasn't enough evidence to charge Phelps, according to CNN.com. How could we let such a criminal slip through the system? Easy! It is a photo of him with a bong, nothing more. I could see taking legal action if he was photographed with four kilos of cocaine and pointing his unregistered nine mm at the camera, but he's not. Instead he is standing with a piece of blown glass. The most you could get would be paraphernalia charges, maybe, but that's too frivolous for our thirst for blood. What is important is how the news outlets bombarded us with useless characters that have or at one point had something to do with marijuana and/or Phelps.
The local police earned their 15 minutes of fame by formally stating they don't have enough information to warrant prosecution. They will never have so many cameras and microphones in front of them ever again. The only people to have benefited from this whole debacle are a small group of physiologists in South Carolina and NetFlix for having a well-placed ad on CNN and CNN.com. The rest of us were subjected to hearing Kathie Lee and Hoda explain how disappointed they were with Phelps on the "Today Show," instead of being informed of substantial news, like the situation in Darfur or the United Arab Emirates visa denial for the Israeli tennis player Shahar Perr.
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