Spring Break
Scandal tells kids, 'don't get caught,' not 'don't do drugs'
Taylor Trudon
Issue date: 2/12/09 Section: Commentary
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In Michael Phelps' case, a picture is worth a couple million dollars in endorsement deals.
Every four years, I find myself continually wrapped up in the Summer Olympic Games. Actually, "wrapped up" is an understatement; I can't count how many nights I stayed up until 2 a.m. watching the gymnastics finals, rooting for the divers and cheering for the swimmers. Last summer was no exception.
The Olympics are a great international unifier of athletics, with both athletes and spectators alike looking forward to seeing the best athletes in the world perform. I think it is safe to say that this year was Phelps' year, and you don't need to know the difference between the butterfly and the breaststroke to know that the 23-year-old swimmer took home eight gold medals from Beijing, broke world records and easily became the world's poster boy for swimming practically overnight.
Just as easily, Phelps may have tarnished his career overnight, when a photograph of him inhaling from a bong was recently printed in a British tabloid with the bolded headline, "WHAT A DOPE." Clearly, the picture shows that Phelps is at a party participating in illegal drug activity. And clearly, Phelps chose to ignore the fine print when he signed away to be Role Model of the Year - which is a pretty heavy title.
Along with losing his endorsement contract with Kelloggs and being suspended by USA Swimming for three months, Phelps is at the epicenter of media scrutiny. Phelps screwed up. Badly. He undeniably made a mistake, and for that he must pay the price. But was his mistake smoking some pot at a party with friends, or was the real mistake being careless enough to allow someone to take his picture while doing it?
How many of you have taken an illegal sip of a substance while being underage? Or how many of you have been at a party and have taken a hit because you could? It would not be surprising to find that the majority of UConn's population has. Drinking and the occasional (or maybe not so occasional for some) drug use is considered to be the norm nowadays in our culture among teenagers and college students.
Every four years, I find myself continually wrapped up in the Summer Olympic Games. Actually, "wrapped up" is an understatement; I can't count how many nights I stayed up until 2 a.m. watching the gymnastics finals, rooting for the divers and cheering for the swimmers. Last summer was no exception.
The Olympics are a great international unifier of athletics, with both athletes and spectators alike looking forward to seeing the best athletes in the world perform. I think it is safe to say that this year was Phelps' year, and you don't need to know the difference between the butterfly and the breaststroke to know that the 23-year-old swimmer took home eight gold medals from Beijing, broke world records and easily became the world's poster boy for swimming practically overnight.
Just as easily, Phelps may have tarnished his career overnight, when a photograph of him inhaling from a bong was recently printed in a British tabloid with the bolded headline, "WHAT A DOPE." Clearly, the picture shows that Phelps is at a party participating in illegal drug activity. And clearly, Phelps chose to ignore the fine print when he signed away to be Role Model of the Year - which is a pretty heavy title.
Along with losing his endorsement contract with Kelloggs and being suspended by USA Swimming for three months, Phelps is at the epicenter of media scrutiny. Phelps screwed up. Badly. He undeniably made a mistake, and for that he must pay the price. But was his mistake smoking some pot at a party with friends, or was the real mistake being careless enough to allow someone to take his picture while doing it?
How many of you have taken an illegal sip of a substance while being underage? Or how many of you have been at a party and have taken a hit because you could? It would not be surprising to find that the majority of UConn's population has. Drinking and the occasional (or maybe not so occasional for some) drug use is considered to be the norm nowadays in our culture among teenagers and college students.
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sloane
sloane
posted 2/12/09 @ 1:35 PM EST
Another possibility--was another mistake here the fact that Phelps was being mirepresented as the perfect role model--impossible to keep up and bound to fail at some point (although it could have been in more subtle and less damaging ways)?
Just after the scandal broke, branding expert John Tantillo did a post on his marketing blog, suggesting that Phelps use this crisis as a springboard to promote himself in a more authentic way (as a kid who has overcome real challenges. (Continued…)
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