<strong><em><u>Philip Hersh:</em></u></strong> Michael Phelps’ problems aren’t Olympian
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I started thinking about this question Wednesday, but it really hit home after listening to U.S. Olympic Committee Chief Executive Jim Scherr talk about the USOC offering help to Michael Phelps.
Scherr raised the possibilitythat Phelps’ two post-Olympic transgressions -- drunk driving in 2004, apparent marijuana use in 2008, both criminal offenses -- could be a ‘pattern of behavior.’’
My question had been whether any other recent U.S. Olympic relative mega-star had gotten into trouble the way Phelps has while struggling to balance being young, rich, famous and fun-loving.
I concede an apples-and-oranges element to the question, because Phelps is the most famous U.S. Olympian in recent memory. He hit it big in an era when celebrity obsession has reached ludicrous proportions (and everyone with a camera phone is ready to capture and disseminate celebs’ indiscretions). And he is becoming richer, in absolute terms, than anyone who preceded him in this category.
But I thought of the biggest U.S. Olympic stars of the ESPN age, some of whom got very wealthy from endorsements (snowboarder Shaun White), competition appearance fees (sprinter Carl Lewis), salaries and prize money (volleyballer Karch Kiraly) and speaking engagements (hockey player Mike Eruzione and swimmer Janet Evans), and I realized none had made a police blotter or been involved in a scandal.
My top-of-the-head list also included runner Michael Johnson; figure skaters Michelle Kwan, Scott Hamilton and Brian Boitano; soccer player Mia Hamm; basketball player Candace Parker; skier Picabo Street; and speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno.
Ohno and White, exemplify the youth culture Phelps embraces. Snowboarder White is the epitome of Gen X-through-Z sporting hip, and he makes a ton of money, and he
seems to know which lines not to cross.
Now that doesn’t mean I am certain that any of them never had one drink too many or never used recreational drugs.
But to the best of the collective memory of Google, Wikipedia and me, none was arrested for drunk driving or photographed in flagrante delicto, as Phelps was.
Phelps has been forced to issue an apology with the promise it wouldn’t happen again. Twice.
And, on Thursday, Kellogg Co. became the first of Phelps’ sponsors to say that it would end its deal because of the pipe photo. Advertising Age reports that the cereal company will not renew Phelps’ contract when it expires at the end of this month because his behavior was ‘not consistent with the image of Kellogg.’’
Several other sponsors have said that they were disappointed in him but would continue their association with Phelps. [Updated at 4:50 p.m.]
The swimmer told the Baltimore Sun that he was so upset about being hounded since the picture of him and the bong was published on Sunday that he will consider retiring before the next Olympics rather than endure the down side of fame through four more years.
Such a decision would beg several questions.
If you revel publicly in celebrity, as Phelps clearly has, you have to realize it is a deal with the devil and be prepared for the consequences. If he did not know that before the 2008 Olympics, after four years as the world’s leading swimmer, his management company and those close to him needed to spell it out for him after Beijing. (Maybe they did, and he didn’t listen.)
Yes, it was a sleazy act to sell the picture of the swimmer and the pipe, but anyone who behaves badly in public would be painfully naive not to realize both strangers and even some seeming friends might try to profit from such an opportunity.
The argument that Phelps is just a normal 23-year-old blowing off steam is specious. First of all, his initial offense could have been deadly. Second, marijuana use is illegal, no matter how ridiculous many people think that is.Third, athletes like Ohno, Kwan, White, Parker and Lewis were 23 or younger when they hit it big.
Had Phelps been more circumspect, no one but his coach, Bob Bowman, would be hounding him -- and Bowman’s Cerberus act is a good thing, since it helped fashion Phelps into the greatest swimmer in history.
Maybe, as Scherr suggested, Phelps has fallen into a potentially destructive behavior pattern, some sort of binge and purge, where the purge comes from his incredibly demanding training regimen.
Michael Phelps has said for five years that one of his strongest motivations was to get more exposure for swimming.
His extraordinary successes in the pool have done that, but not to the degree they have brought exposure to Michael Phelps.
Everyone who cares about him should be at least a little concerned about what has been exposed.
-- Philip Hersh
Top photo: Michael Phelps appears on the front of a box of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. Credit: Daniel Acker / Bloomberg News
