RodeoSchro said:

It is funny when you get upset that others do it but not when you do it yourselves.

Why the fuck would I let you know?

You seem to be the one obsessed with this, I'm sure you'll be able to find out on your own.

JerseyKRS said:

He was a relative unknown in 2004.

Now, he's one of the most recognizable faces in America, if not the world. And he's put himself out there in a major way as an endorser of products. He's saying, "I use this product, and if you like me, you should too!"

But he let so many people down by being a stoner.

I think the best thing he could do is go on TV and explain exactly how he got into smoking dope, how long he did it, and why he didn't realize it was the wrong thing for him to do.

His little "I made a mistake and I need to learn from it speech" rings hollow. It's like he's trying to say, "I only did it once" when it's obvious he knows his way around a bong.

He has a great opportunity to reach out and say, "Here's how I got into this, here is the mistake in judgment I made at that time, and now I am glad this situation has made me realize I was screwing up. Kids, don't fall into the same trap I did; in fact, let me tell you how NOT to fall into it".

That kind of statement will go way further in salvaging/rebuilding his reputation than what he's said so far.

And also, he REALLY needs to make it VERY clear that pot was the ONLY drug he used. I'm telling you, the steroids question is going to start coming up in a hard way.

JustErin said:

What makes you think I don't get upset when I screw up?

That's a weird thing to think.

Anyway, you've been wrong on everything else about Phelps so far, but feel free to keep making predictions.

RodeoSchro said:

I'm not talking about murder - that comment is ridiculous and you're grasping at straws now. You can't even compare the two. He didn't do anything that hurt anyone. I liken what he did to other people smoking pot, or speeding or even jaywalking. Dude isn't even being charged with anything.

"It's an outrage!! An outrage!! He smoked pot!! How dare he??!! Oh wait, I did as well when I was 23. But that doesn't matter!! They never caught me doing it in a pic. An outrage!!! I tell ya!"

The only person who thinks I'm in a hole is you - so I'm not too worried about you thinking I'm digging deeper.

RodeoSchro said:

Yet THAT didn't seem to affect him at all? How stupid this country is when alcohol is ok and weed isn't.

In that picture, there isn't even any smoke in the chamber. ????

And Mr. Rodeo....imho, you can't be the second funkiest white man and be such a prude about pot.

RodeoSchro said:

So if a video of you breaking the law speeding was broadcast to your friends/co workers /family you would be so outraged with yourself that you would step down from your job, expect others to take away your livelihood as punishment?

JustErin said:

pretty much

JustErin said:

You're getting confused, Erin. The difference between Michael Phelps and you is that you are not getting paid $$$millions by advertisers to persuade people to use their product. Advertisers are paying Phelps these $$$millions because they thought his character and reputation were clean.

Now it turns out they are not. You might not think smoking pot is a big deal, but it's against the law. Should it be? Irrelevant. It IS, and that makes Phelps NOT the person advertisers thought they were paying $$$millions to associate with their product.

Do you know what the Kellogg's company makes? They make breakfast cereal. Their target market is kids.

They dropped Phelps even though, as you say, Phelps is not charged with any crime. You might think the Kellogg's company overreacted, but so what? They did what they did, and it's a fact.

I can't make it any clearer than that.

JustErin said:

Erin, that's just plain stupid. Nowhere did I say Phelps should be banned or forced out of swimming. I said he would lose endorsements, and he has.

Seriously, you need to quit digging.

GetAwayFromMe said:

LMFAO. I don't think pot makes you funky, but I will admit I've never tried it.

But I never will either, and I'll STILL put my funk up against any other white man's! (Except, of course, for the Funkiest White Man in America, the legendary Steve Cropper!)

RodeoSchro said:

he wasn't unknown. He had just won 5 or so gold medals in the summer olympics that year, and at least two of them broke world records if I remember correctly.

you and I both know that is NOT what endorsements are. In a perfect world where things were as they should be, sure. But today, endorsements are NOT athletes saying "I use this, so should you", it's income. I will not go into whether that is true or not for Mr. Phelps, seeing as how I don't know him.

He didn't let anyone down, other than it seems the people that want to cast judgement, as usual. How do you or I know if he's a "stoner"? Who are you or I to determine if being a "stoner" is good or bad? Yes, it is illegal. I understand that, he owned up to poor judgement. IMO, that picture is no worse than someone drinking whiskey. Oops, sorry, whiskey is legal. Again, different debate for a different day.

He apologized. Why should he have to go on national TV and talk about being a reformed addict? He never claimed it was his first time, he simply owned up to it, quickly, explained his thinking, and APOLOGIZED. A LOT of 23 year old kids will experiment with marijuana, that is a simple fact.

It's not up to him to teach kids about marijuana and the dangers, yadda yadda yadda...that is a personal decision that parent's should reinforce. Disregarding my personal feelings on the issue (we know I am pro), I still feel like he handled it accordingly.

and I don't have enough breath to talk about steroids.

GetAwayFromMe said:

Well, we're pretty forgiving, and that was his first transgression.

I guess we're not quite as forgiving the second time.

RodeoSchro said:

I know that's right. I've never smoked weed either and don't think I'm missing a muthafuckin' thing.

JerseyKRS said:

back atcha! Thanks for your really well-put thoughts. I agree with most of what you said. I disagree a little on the endorsement thing. For instance, I don't really believe Tiger Woods drove Buicks, but from Buick's perspective, they paid Woods so much money because they wanted people to believe Woods drove Buicks.

Where I'm coming from is, how does Phelps restore his earning capacity? My whole position in this issue has been, what effect will it have on Phelps' endorsements? Erin (not your Erin!) said "none" and I disagreed.

So now I'm looking at this as if I was Phelps' agent. This is the way I would put Phelps out there, with the goal being to get Phelps as close as possible back to the public perception he enjoyed before this.


[Edited 2/6/09 8:27am]

RodeoSchro said:

You are saying that he should lose his livelihood. He doesn't make money winning medals, he makes it with endorsements. You make yours representing a company so I made the comparison using your livelihood.

That was stupid? Stupid because you didn't want to answer my question?

You or I might not be making millions (well, maybe you are) but we are still representing a product or service in some way. I see no difference.

SCNDLS said:

I don't necessarily have an issue with what pot does your mental state - hell, I drink more than my fair share of alcohol, so I'm a pro at altering my mental state.

I don't dig the smoking part of it. I'm just against smoking of any kind.

RodeoSchro said:

Dude, I said that it won't affect him in the end, not that he wouldn't lose some endorsements. I said if he did, others will step in and endorse him.

Just give it a little time.

RodeoSchro said:

right, it definitely will have an effect on endorsements, it already has. The BEST thing for him to do would continue to win, as we all know that gives americans short term memory.

I personally feel that if he beats it like a dead horse, it draws TOO much attention to it. Apologize, and go back to winning.

All that being said, if he gets caught again, then he deserves to lose all of them. I am pro marijuana, but I'm smart enough to know you have to work within the constraints of the system.








I'm ripping mine right now.....

JustErin said:

Yeah, it was stupid. I didn't say he should lose his livelihood. If you think I did, please show me where I said it and we'll clear up any confusion.

You said, "This won't hurt him in any way."

You were wrong. He's been suspended from the US swimming team, and he's lost a $5 million endorsement deal.

So, yeah - all these ancillary points you're trying to make are stupid.

JustErin said:

Dudette, you said, "This won't hurt him in any way."

RodeoSchro said:

not too harsh of a consequence, I think both are fitting.

JerseyKRS said:

LMFAO!

JerseyKRS said:

Maybe our new prez, a past toker will help to change the laws

What a dumbass and a disgrace

JerseyKRS said:

I'm not sure he should have been suspended from the team. They don't have squat to do with this.

I think he needs to be aggressive about clearing up this issue because I guarantee you there are people that are going to raise the steroids question if he doesn't.

Just like the South Carolina police are looking at charging Phelps is nothing mroe than a publicity stunt, so too will be a rival that starts asking, "Phelps is a drug user, so maybe did he use any other drugs last summer?"

Pehlps needs to put the kibosh on that NOW, and I think the best way to do it is to tell us more information than we ever wanted to know about his pot use. He needs to set it out in a way that anyone can see his decision to smoke pot was done only to get messed up and that it would in no way be an indication that he might use other, performance-enhancing, drugs.

Mach said:

I don't think we'll ever see it the way we feel it should be, I've accepted that. But jesus, it's the 21st century, when is the stigma going to be dropped?

We should ban saffron and dandelion too, right??

RodeoSchro said:

I also then added later in the conversation that in the end if things are taken away, things will come to replace it.

So you won't answer my question then. That's cool, call it stupid. No skin off my back.

I have a good feeling I know what your answer is anyway.

JustErin said:

Which question? I'll answer it, and you can tell me if you predicted my answer as well as you've predicted this whole Phelps thing.