Pubdate: Fri, 6 Feb 2009
Source: USA Today (US)
Page: 8A
Copyright: 2009 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
Contact:  http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/index.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/466
Author: Richard Laermer
Note: Richard Laermer runs a public relations firm in New York and is 
author of 2011: Trendspotting for the Next Decade.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Michael+Phelps
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)

ONE TOKE TOO MANY

If Facts Are Concrete and Evidence Clear, Prosecute Phelps to the Max.

I'm not Michael Phelps (I can't even swim), but I do have experience 
working with the notorious who often make fools of themselves at our 
expense, often with impunity. But Phelps has learned -- the hard way 
- -- that being famous means being memorable. If you are idolized, then 
your character is admired. If your character goes bad, then you are 
simply fodder for late-night comics.

It's bad timing for the swimming Olympian. Today, more than anytime I 
can remember, we need heroes to make ourselves feel good. Maybe what 
Phelps did last fall was comical to some, pulling on a bong while 
wearing a backwards baseball cap, but I doubt parents thought so. 
Kids have few role models, and this one, with tens of millions of 
adoring fans, should have known better than to waltz into anyone's 
house and start recreating that way.

Sports figures in YouTube America act like they're impenetrable, as 
if they can do what they want and after the "mea culpa" all will be 
forgiven. Like rock stars have always done. But being a real champion 
means that people regard you as superhuman.

How does the nation come down from this lasting impression? And, more 
important, what about a kid who now thinks that drugs are cool after all?

I have spent years in PR telling self-important types in the public 
eye to remember what that eye means: You are always being watched. 
It's the price of fame. I'm really surprised Phelps' handlers didn't 
do a "Scared Straight" tour for him of the famous through the years 
caught with their proverbial pants down.

Enough already. If sports celebrities can't take their statuses 
seriously, then they should be treated like any offender. If the 
facts are concrete and evidence is clear, young Michael Phelps 
should, just like Mike Tyson and Michael Vick and O.J. Simpson (yes, 
O.J.), be prosecuted to the fullest.

I am not some fuddy-duddy acting prudish. I am a professional who is 
shaking his head, thinking about Americans struggling to make ends 
meet and what they must think of a young multimillionaire like 
Phelps, who can throw it all away with one toke.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake