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.