I Don't Care if Michal Phelps Smokes Mary Jane!

So Michael Phelps got high in Columbia (allegedly). Big deal.

It isn’t as if he committed a major felony like some other high profile athletes in the past-here is looking at you Michael Vick and DeAndre McDaniel.

Now those guys needed to make some apologies. But for Phelps, I think it would have gone a long way if he had said something to the tune of, ‘Yes, I did it, and I’ve done it before, and I liked it, but didn’t do it during competition.’

The argument if he had done that is that he probably would have lost a large deal of sponsorship and ad revenue that he garnered thanks to his 6-foot, 4-inch inch frame, and his 14 career gold medals.

But why would Mazda, a China owned company, care? And what about Speedo, a company based in England? Sure, he may lose the Wheaties deal, but who eats Wheaties?

But unlike the prior named athletes, the only person Phelps hurt in this instance was himself. He didn’t hurt any fans with his drunk driving in November 2004, so why would this, a less serious offense, be any different? He also didn’t hurt Americans reputation, more than our leaders already have at least, because most of the world has legalized marijuana and don’t view it as that big a deal.

The worst part is, the offense wasn’t even caught by the paparazzi, but a regular joe who mailed it cross seas to our old nemesis, the British, and more precisely, there slumdog press. You would think the person that snapped the photo would at least try to go American.

This photo wasn’t taken in the public, and Phelps obviously thought he would have a moment of peace to enjoy himself. Low and behold to him when someone takes a snap shot of him hitting a bong. And who is to say it wasn’t for hookah?

Is Phelps a high profile guy? Yes, Phelps is a celebrity and a role model, and should be held accountable if he did it. But we need to ask ourselves why we hold celebrities to a higher standard? They are normal people, like you and I. Well, normal if we were all 6’4 and could swim like a barracuda.

Phelps made a mistake in judgment, and he knows that. But we are blowing this whole thing out of proportion. This doesn’t, and shouldn’t, take away from his accomplishments in the pool and in life. He is a role model and celebrity, but he is also a regular guy, despite the fact he can swim very fast.

Any other person and this is a slap on the wrist. But since it was Phelps, we want to come down harder on him. Phelps is not exempt from the law, but he shouldn’t be made an example of for such a petty offense.

Why is it that when a celebrity, such as Phelps, commits a gaffe, we insist that an extra-sized hammer come down on them? Shouldn’t we nail non-celebrity people with the same hammer?