Misplaced scrutiny for Phelps

Swimming superstar Michael Phelps was caught on camera apparently smoking weed from a bong in a photo released last week. The image so infuriated sponsors that some of them, most notably Kellogg’s and Subway, were considering dropping him from their sponsorship. Thankfully, it seems only Kellogg’s will act on it.

But even if they don’t drop Phelps, that doesn’t mean that he won’t have to go through an endless parade of promises “to never (do) it again,” 15-second public service announcements and countless expressions of regret.  

The harsh criticism he’s received for smoking pot is entirely overblown. According to a study from the journal of the Public Library of Science, 42 percent of Americans, including every president in recent memory, have smoked pot. Yet, it is still unimaginably taboo to do it responsibly.

The fact that he smoked and got a buzz should not have been more harrowing than his 2004 DUI. Yet Kellogg’s felt no need to disassociate itself from him when it initially signed him shortly after that incident.  

If sponsors are worried about their images and the messages they send, perhaps they should look at what they just effectively said by dropping Phelps: It’s far worse to smoke weed in the comfort of your own home than it is to drink and drive, even though the latter puts others in peril.

How did we get to a state of mind in which marijuana use is more stigmatized than drunk driving?

Equally sad is that people tried to profit from the human aspect of a celebrity. The photo came to the media’s attention because it first appeared in a British tabloid, and then later the bong used by Phelps was being put up for sale on eBay for $100,000.

Love him or hate him, it’s pretty low to exploit someone’s celebrity and bad judgment for a quick $100,000.