PHELPS' PREDICAMENT JUST MEDIA'S BONG SCARE

Help! There's a 23-year-old man smoking marijuana at a college party!

All kidding aside, are the photos of 14-time Olympic gold medalist
Michael Phelps apparently smoking pot at a University of South
Carolina party really deserving of all the media attention?

Phelps has since apologized for his actions, but rather than this
episode becoming a platform for parents to have frank discussions
with children about drug use, its become another forum on higher
moral standards for today's professional athlete.

Most alarming is the swashbuckling actions of prosecutors in Richland
County, S.C., who have launched a criminal investigation based on the
photos, which appeared in a British tabloid.

At the very least, the criminal investigation smacks of entrapment,
one of the most despicable words attached to the use of the resources
of the American justice system.

Yes, marijuana is illegal, but would prosecutors dare build a drug
possession case against Phelps based solely on circumstantial
evidence, relying on witnesses who will swear there was pot in the pipe?

Or will prosecutors launch a character smear campaign, shaking all
the skeletons out of his still very young closet? Maybe they can find
a history of him drinking beer at keggers in high school. Heavens!

From all reports, Phelps is a stand-up guy, loves his mom and
certainly didn't mean to bring destruction to America's moral fiber.
There's no evidence he's a habitual drug user.

He's a kid who has dedicated his entire life to the pursuit of
physical fitness, and like many his age probably felt a need to blow
off (or suck up?) some steam by sowing a little wild plant material.
The vast majority of people who experiment with marijuana - which
includes a lot of people - do not become habitual drug users.

Was it a mistake? Probably. Was it surprising? Not at all.

Phelps has already been suspended for three months by USA Swimming,
the sport's regulatory commission. He probably needs to do a little
soul-searching about public actions in today's cell-phone photography world.

But why are we holding celebrities to a higher moral standard anyway?
I thought America had worked through all this passing-judgment stuff
about a decade ago, when we gave up on changing President Clinton.
And now we express moral indignation because Portland mayor Sam Adams
didn't feel like mentioning he lusts after hot young interns?

Throughout his career, former basketball star Charles Barkley, who is
currently facing drunk-driving charges, has argued that celebrities
and athletes should not be considered role models, stating: "A
million guys can dunk a basketball in jail; should they be role models?"

The Kellogg's company couldn't dump Phelps' endorsement contract fast
enough, saying pot-smoking doesn't jibe with the wholesome taste of
Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes, (although I'm sure there are
pot-smokers who would disagree, if you know what I mean).

Kellogg's, like any company, has the right to choose whom to sponsor,
and I don't have a problem with that.

However, if we're going to get judgmental, lets take a look at some
eyewitness accounts about the flake after whom the company is named.

According to several reports, Dr. John Kellogg engaged patients in a
number of bizarre "health" rituals at his famed sanitarium in Battle
Creek, Mich., including nearly 24-hour applications of yogurt enemas.
Kellogg allegedly favored outlandish physical violations to extract
sexual fluid samples from patients in lieu of direct stimulation,
insisting actual sex drained the body of its life force.

I think that's a lot more questionable than some kid smoking weed.

The chronic overreaction to Phelps has an air of schadenfraude -
German for taking pleasure in the suffering of others - particularly
those who are held in high esteem. Maybe this pleasure is magnified
during tough economic times.

I hope as the economy slowly recovers, this story gets the attention
it really deserves, and fades away like so much smoke in the wind.