Here in part is what I wrote in 2009, when pictures of Olympic champion Michael Phelps toking on a bong that would make Snoop Dogg green with envy went viral:
Of course, with all they have invested in, and can still make off, this greatest Olympian of all time, I suspect advertisers and USA Swimming and/or the IOC will do all they can to give Phelps a pass. For example, the IOC could ban him from competition for two or three years, claiming it’s only his first offense, and he would still be eligible to compete in 2012.
Meanwhile, the inconvenient fact that he was caught on candid camera engaging in an illegal act will be overlooked by all interested parties. But Phelps is lucky he wasn’t caught taking this hit during his 18-months probation for DUI, which he received in December 2004. Because this would have triggered far more dire consequences than losing sponsors and medals.
At any rate, it is instructive to note what he promised the judge, his advertisers and his fans back then:
‘I recognize the seriousness of this mistake. I’ve learned from this mistake and will continue learning from this mistake for the rest of my life.’
(“Michael Phelps, 14-Time Olympic Champion, Is a Dope Fiend,” The iPINIONS Journal, February 1, 2009)
Evidently Phelps was being literal when he said he would learn from “this mistake.” After all, his latest arrest has nothing to do with smoking dope, and he made no probationary promise about learning from that earlier DUI mistake. Fatuous, I know, but it’s the only thing that explains this:
Legendary Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, was arrested early Tuesday in Maryland on a DUI charge, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.
Phelps, known as the “Baltimore Bullet” and winner of 18 Olympic gold medals, was arrested at about 1:40 a.m. and charged with driving under the influence, excessive speed [84mph in a 45mph zone] and crossing double lane lines within the Fort McHenry Tunnel on I-95 in Baltimore, the authority said in a statement. He was later released.
(CNN, September 30, 2014)
Not surprisingly, Phelps wasted no time yesterday tweeting a now patented apology:
Earlier this morning, I was arrested and charged with DUI, excessive speeding and crossing double lane lines.
I understand the severity of my actions and take full responsibility.
I know these words may not mean much right now but I am deeply sorry to everyone I have let down.
Of course, the only meaningful part of his apology is his recognition that his word means nothing.
Unfortunately for him, prosecutors, sponsors, and USA Swimming are right in the midst of learning from the spectacular mistakes prosecutors, sponsors, and the NFL (including his hometown team, the Baltimore Ravens) made by giving star athletes a pass on criminal behavior, which ran the gamut from pot smoking to wife beating.
This is why Phelps will not (and should not) get off quite so easily this time. That this is now his second DUI arrest will be an exacerbating factor for sponsors and USA Swimming. It will not be for prosecutors, however, because his 2004 DUI arrest is outside the “lookback period” that is relevant for sentencing.
Apropos of which, though, it must be said that anyone who knows anything about the confluence of drunk driving, celebrity, and law-enforcement can reasonably presume that:
- Phelps has engaged in this reckless behavior on many occasions;
- He has been stopped by the police and given a celebrity pass on more than one of those occasions; and
- He just happened to get stopped on this occasion by a rare cop who cares more about doing his job than currying favor with a celebrity.
Therefore, I hope Maryland prosecutors bear these three-strikes-and-you’re-out presumptions in mind when they consider whether or not Phelps should serve jail time (even if only for a few days), in addition to paying a maximum fine and performing the most onerous probationary conditions. It should not take Phelps injuring himself or, more likely, injuring somebody else for him to truly learn from his reckless “mistakes” or to be properly punished for them.
In the meantime, I fully expect sponsors like Subway to drop him even faster than sponsors like Gatorade dropped Tiger in 2009. After all, besides being fodder for tabloids, there was nothing illegal about Tiger’s infamous marital spat and subsequent bimbo eruption. Not to mention that no company wants to have as its spokesman anyone whose behavior triggers headlines about pot smoking and drunk driving.
The Olympian question now is whether his USA Swimming suspension or criminal punishment will torpedo his celebrated comeback. I think not.
I’m hardly surprised that Phelps is adding his name to the dubious list of superstar athletes who found life unbearable out of the limelight. But, because his fame is based primarily on his Olympic feats, Phelps seems more sympathetic in this respect. After all, he had/has to wait every four years to bask in the kind of glory an athlete like Jordan got to bask in every year of his career.
(“Phelps Comes Out of Retirement. Duh,” The iPINIONS Journal, April 16, 2014)
This is clearly not the kind of limelight, between Olympic Games, Phelps was longing for. What’s more, this latest mistake is bound to dim not just the unusual limelight his comeback journey was generating, but even the usual limelight his participation in the Rio 2016 Olympics will surely generate.
But whatever suspension or punishment he receives should not preclude his participation in next year’s World Championships or the Rio Games one year later. On the other hand, fallout from this arrest could force him to suspend some aspects of his training, which in turn could affect his performance at those seminal events.
Still, Phelps can be assured that all will be forgiven if he weathers this storm and adds to his now-record haul of 18 Olympic gold medals. Indeed, overcoming this bump on the road to Rio might just make his comeback story all the more … compelling.
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