Originally posted by Alicat
On the question of hype. US swimming has been hyping Michael Phelps as the athlete of the year, role model for all etc. Any thoughts on how appropriate that is in comparison to his poor choice to drink and drive/probation?
My 2 cents:
He's under 21, he drank, he got behind the wheel, and drove, then he was caught. That is a good thing, bad choice, but good thing. This choice however does not take away his accomplishments in Athens 2004 or any other swimming highlight.
He will have probation (an I don't know if part of his probation is that he cannot leave the country, but that would also be a good, natural consequence if he missed some international competitions) and will hopefully learn from this the best he can.
I understand that during his personal appearances, he is willing to talk about his poor choice to drink and drive to kids, and that shows a depth of character that is impressive…
One of the conditions of his probation is that he has to spend a certain amount of hours talking to kids about drinking and driving. He is required to make public experiences the way that I understood it.
~Kyra
Originally posted by Alicat
On the question of hype. US swimming has been hyping Michael Phelps as the athlete of the year, role model for all etc. Any thoughts on how appropriate that is in comparison to his poor choice to drink and drive/probation?
My 2 cents:
He's under 21, he drank, he got behind the wheel, and drove, then he was caught. That is a good thing, bad choice, but good thing. This choice however does not take away his accomplishments in Athens 2004 or any other swimming highlight.
He will have probation (an I don't know if part of his probation is that he cannot leave the country, but that would also be a good, natural consequence if he missed some international competitions) and will hopefully learn from this the best he can.
I understand that during his personal appearances, he is willing to talk about his poor choice to drink and drive to kids, and that shows a depth of character that is impressive…
One of the conditions of his probation is that he has to spend a certain amount of hours talking to kids about drinking and driving. He is required to make public experiences the way that I understood it.
~Kyra
