Originally posted by kaffrinn Should Phelps be suspended or fined by USA swimming? I think he should...it could send a message to not only him, but the kids in USA swimming...and give him time to think about the seriousness of what he did.
People here are saying that Michael should be treated just like anyone else regarding his drunk driving, and I agree. However, being fined by USA Swimming would not be in line with this. As far as I know, USA Swimming has never fined any other swimmer for something like this, so it would be singling Michael out just because he's a star.
Originally posted by craiglll@yahoo.com
I don't know how to respond to this. In reality, it is none of my business.
Of course, it's our business. First, what Phelps did is a crime, making it the public's business. Second, he endangered the lives of others, hence, it's our business.
This isn't a case of him drinking at home and falling off his deck and busting an ankle.
It's hard to believe there is anyone trying to rationalize this. He's underage drinking (not that I can cast too many stones on that one) and he's driving. Maybe he can swim to practice from now on cause that SUV is bye-bye.
Originally posted by geochuck
One guy DUI is not going to effect how people feel about swimming.
I understand exactly what you are trying to say about just one person's effect on their sport. How could one person change it all? Well, when the Olympics and World Championships were on - what ONE swimmer was featured in a lot of commercials? It was Mr. Phelps. I think why a lot of people are shocked is because he has been the "face" of swimming in this very important year for the sport... plus it was a crime, and a serious one... I'm just happy that he didn't hurt anyone.
I consider myself to be a sports enthusiast. I used to go to pro football games and baseball too. However, with all of the stuff that athletes are doing with guns, drugs, etc... I'm sick of it all. I do not watch any more professional sports. Don't get me wrong, there are wonderful athletes out there trying to make it, trying to make a difference... and it does sometimes get spoiled by some bad apples. I was just saddened that recently, swimming has been trying to become more popular in the United States... and that something like this comes about. Swimming will not be tarnished forever because of this, but it wasn't a move in the right direction...
Hopefully... Phelps, swimmers, and other athletes... actually, EVERYONE needs to learn from this and NEVER drink and drive.
I'm very disappointed. Hopefully something good can come out of this. I coach a lot of kids that idolize Michael. This will help them see that he is indeed human and capable of making very bad choices. I hope Michael will realize the far-reaching consequences of his actions and do some heavy duty public service announcements..especially to the MTV crowd. I made the mistake of priding myself on being part of a sport that didn't have young hot shot stars that thought they were above the law. Hopefully Michael will not become one of these. I don't think he will. I do believe he should be treated just like anyone else under the same circumstances..not harsher and not easier. I know some will disagree with me, but look what happened to Martha Stewart. I believe she was treated harsher because of her celebrity status. I hope this doesn't happen to Michael. :(
Originally posted by aquageek
It's hard to believe there is anyone trying to rationalize this. He's underage drinking (not that I can cast too many stones on that one) and he's driving.
Why is it hard to believe? I've got to believe many of us here have driven drunk at some point. People tend to do lots of stupid things in their teens and twenties. Does that make it excusable? No. But it does make it understandable.
I can't in good faith chastise Michael Phelps for a behavior I've done. Just becuase I never got caught doesn't make it any better. Michael should be punished just like anyone else accused of DUI, but I'm with Tom Ellison that we don't need to hang the guy because of it.
Originally posted by knelson
Why is it hard to believe? I've got to believe many of us here have driven drunk at some point. People tend to do lots of stupid things in their teens and twenties. Does that make it excusable? No. But it does make it understandable.
I can't in good faith chastise Michael Phelps for a behavior I've done. Just becuase I never got caught doesn't make it any better. Michael should be punished just like anyone else accused of DUI, but I'm with Tom Ellison that we don't need to hang the guy because of it.
I agree! "Let him that is without sin cast the first stone."
Originally posted by 330man
This is the most traffic I have ever seen on this forum!! I guess that is a testament to the popularity of Phelps.
The forum just hasn't been the same (nor have the threads been as long) since Ion departed for the USA Swimming website. Whether or not you agreed with him, he did manage to keep things...interesting. Fortunately he and Aquageek have remained close.
This is just very, very sad. So many kids look up to Michael Phelps and he has let them down. I am a middle school teacher and swim coach in Maryland. For years I have observed that the "heroes" kids idolize are often total losers. Then, Michael Phelps came along, a seemingly perfect role model. Now girls even have pictures of Michael Phelps on their binders! One girl started crying (really!) when she heard the news. But, at least she realized that he had done a terrible thing and didn't shrug it off like "so what?" She knew that what he had done was much more than a "mistake." Hopefully what kids learn from this will not be "what's the big deal about drinking and driving if even Michael Phelps does it," but rather that sometimes even our "heroes" do bad (really, really bad, inexcusable) things. I was encouraged by the kids' reactions today. Every single one, I thought, responded appropriately.
I find these comments incredible. The only reason people aren't more outraged is because he didn't hurt anyone but himself, and probably only financially, at that. If he had hurt someone, you think your tunes might change? The line between driving drunk and driving drunk and killing someone is very thin. My god, he ran a stop sign in an SUV. Would it still be this "youth and carefree" excuse you folks are using if someone had been hurt?
We had two local teenagers die locally from drunk driving recently. Guess that was just a mistake and a speed bump on the road of life. This isn't an "experience", this is a crime.
Why don't you ask MADD how they feel about first time offenders for DUI. They might not consider it a mistake, especially if they've buried a child.
First, I’ll jump on the bandwagon and state that driving under the influence is a crime and in my opinion it is not a mistake; a conscious decision is made to drink and a conscious decision is made to drive a vehicle.
But when I see comments like “Of course, it's our business. First, what Phelps did is a crime, making it the public's business. Second, he endangered the lives of others…” I begin to wonder.
“what Phelps did is a crime” and “Should Phelps be suspended or fined by USA swimming? I think he should” – I was unaware that he was already found guilty??? Albeit some of the comments attributed to him infer guilt. We are each entitled to our opinions regarding his innocence or guilt, but wouldn’t it be nice to hear the facts first? This reminds me of some of the rants against Amy Van Dyken that followed her grand jury testimony in the Balco case.
“what Phelps did is a crime, making it the public's business” – If a crime was committed, shouldn’t that be the business of the judicial system?
“Of course, it's our business.” – Well I guess that depends on how you define “our business”. Michael is a public figure and his successes and failures are of interest to a great many people. Is it of great interest to me? Absolutely! Is it my business? No, at least not based on my definition of my business. Like Emmett, I have children swimming in USA-Swimming and they both are in awe of Michael. Last night we talked about this story and the importance of being prepared to accept the consequences for your actions. Hopefully this sent a powerful message to them. And as Emmett said, I hope it will be the right effect.
“he endangered the lives of others” – I did not see anything in any of the articles that reported this fact. However, I will agree that every time anyone drives a car, they are endangering the lives of others and that this risk increases after consumption of alcohol. But according to the MSN story Phelps was charged with DUI, violation of a license restriction and failure to obey a stop sign.
