Unmasking Michael Phelps

Heroes of might among men – gods in the history books of athletic fame – demigods to the mortals that they perform their feats for – must provide for their worshippers an example to which they may aspire. In the end, though, they are not demigods, as the greatest of them all has demonstrated – they are just human subject to the follies of us mere mortals. Perhaps when we unmask these heroes of mighty ability, we might discover that they are, after all, just human.

Michael Phelps now has the honor of being the highest profile disappointment to Americans and fans of swimming athletics all around the world. He has disgraced himself and his family, and the entire sport. Once upon a time, there was one man – a snowboarder from Canada – Rose Rebagliati, who was tested positive for the drug. Initially, he was stripped of his medals, and then they were returned him as it was reasoned it was not a performance enhancing drug. Phelps does not seem to be at risk of going through the same tribulations. On the other side of the Pacific, where many of the best sumo wrestlers have tested positive, the consequences have been profound. The most recent of which is Wakakirin. In this country, there is no tolerance, for the loss of honour is an insult to the sport. He has been stripped of honour, the right to compete, and the accolades of an adoring nation. Unlike the previous Russians who lost honour for the same reason, he’s native to Japan – the pain of the nation much be much greater, and arguably those who are fans will be faced with a mixed message: on the one hand, great athletes smoke marijuana, while on the other the consequences for being caught are severe. In the United States, it appears that the mixed message is less severe: great athletes smoke marijuana, and the consequences are far less severe.

Marijuana has been around. It’s been smoked for thousands of years. 2,700 years ago, in the Gobi Desert, a man who clearly thought it was important was buried alongside some potent herb. Forward to about 2,600 years later, and the federal government of the United States of America came to the conclusion that it was a danger to society. Subsequently, there is close to one hundred years of history behind prohibition.

What does it mean to us today? That is the subject of rather intense debate today. It’s a debate that proponents thought would have a powerhouse in the White House would endorse – on the propot side. It seems clear in the dawn of a new White House that they do not, in fact, have a friend. Or, if they have a friend, it’s one of those secret friends that Obama doesn’t seem to want to admit to in public, despite having admitted to having inhaled.

Another big component of the debate is the fact that, despite political pressure on scientists to go the other way, is the fact that there is now overwhelming evidence suggesting that marijuana has significant medicinal properties.

Then there are the social problems that are outlined by many enforcement agencies. It worries that children will become victims should marijuana become legalized. More adults, and subsequently more children, will adopt it for social purposes. Simply by relaxing the laws around it, ie., by making it punishable by a fine for possession or legalizing it for the ill who simply get too sick from the legally prescribed drugs, will open the flood gates for abuse by children.

What’s ironical about all these top notch athletes is the fact that many of the prohibitionists have for a long time declared that marijuana inhibits ambition and causes laziness. If this were true, then these stories would not be headlines all over the world. Clearly, the case of the basement marijuana junkie who still lives with his parents – the archetypal stereotype – is junked. Both outrageously successful and unsuccessful people alike are midnight tokers. No longer are we faced with the hilarity of Cheech and Chong who trivialized and mocked the pothead – we’re instead faced with the greatest athletes the modern world knows being smokers.

Who is to blame for all of this? Certainly the law cannot be altogether blamed for the confusion. For all the cases that come before the courts where the defendant tries to mitigate his prison sentence by declaring that he or she was high and therefore intent cannot be considered in sentencing, it is no wonder that the law sees marijuana as a plague upon society. Nonetheless, if it does not deal severely with Phelps, then it too is sending a mixed message to the world, and in particular young Americans.

So what happens to our heroes now that they’re unmasked? We have one of two choices – throw them into the same category as Ben Johnson (100m in 9.79 seconds) or treat them with respect and put them back on the pedestal.