Falling from Grace?

It seems like just yesterday that the entire country couldn't get enough of swimming phenom Michael Phelps. WIth his record-setting eight gold medals in swimming at the Beijing Summer Olympics, it was next to impossible to imagine anything coming and shaking the excitement and admiration that most of the country had come to bestow on the 23-year-old Olympian. Thus it's with a degree of sadness that we see that he really isn't infallible and is just like the rest of us... only human. British tabloids ran a picture of Phelps at a house party at the University of South Carolina in which he is apparently smoking from what appears to be a hash pipe. Now although he has acknowledged he was smoking and that it was wrong, there has been no confirmation or denial as to what the substance was that was in the pipe.

Although as an Olympian, Phelps is privy to anti-doping rules and substance abuse policies, because he is currently not in training and pot (if that's what the substance in the pipe was) is not considered a doping agent, his winning of eight medals at the Olympics will not be rescinded though there is bound to be greater scrutiny against him in the future. But is it so wrong? I mean there have been tons of athletes in the past who have suffered from the same types of fallacies and is it wrong of them to show signs of being human in this way? I don't condone his being caught potentially smoking an illegal substance but what's the big deal? Just because he's an athlete or is more well known compared to other people do we think that he is somehow better than the rest of us?

I suppose to a certain degree that is what a lot of us think and it's probably not wrong of us to think it. When you're looking for inspiration it's not hard to look up to someone who has achieved so much at such a young age. Despite everything that's happened to him over the past few days, Phelps's achievements at the Olympics should not be diminished. He has proven without a doubt that he had the stamina and determination to win the medals that he earned and that should not be taken away from him. But I suppose it is too much to expect that he will no longer draw the interest of people even when he's not in the pool or competing at the Olympics. After having his face plastered all over the country, is it any wonder that someone snapped a picture of him that landed him in so much trouble?

In years past perhaps it would have been prevented given the fact that most cameras at that time were much larger and bulkier but now you can carry a decent sized camera in your normal cell phone that is (at times) even more powerful than some basic digital cameras. I'm skeptical in assuming that the person who took the photo did it with the intent of getting Phelps in trouble but it's definitely news. I mean for people who have watched him compete and do so well it's a bit.... disconcerting to know that at other times he's doing something that's considered so bad. I don't think it's right that we necessarily put athletes like Phelps on pedestals and expect them to be angels but I do hope that many of them know that they will forever be in the public's eye given that they are popular and successful competitors. I certainly hope this doesn't do much to diminish the opinion many people have of him since he is certainly a great athlete, but one hopes that he remains a great person in the public's eye too.