This is the week that two big athletes and drugs stories broke: Michael Phelps was photographed smoking marijuana and A-Rod was identified as using performance-enhancing drugs, including steroids when he played for the Texas Rangers.
A lot of argument is swirling about how they are both bad examples for kids and the majority of opinion is coming down hardest on Michael Phelps. I think this is entirely because marijuana is illegal in this country and so there's the stigma against it, but I think that that shouldn't matter as much.
Yes they're both idiots and have damaged their reputation, especially with parents who would have liked to hold them as role models of what you can accomplish when you work hard and stay focused. They're probably going to lose some endorsements, though it will hurt Phelps a lot more than A-Rod who has a union and a lucrative baseball contract to fall back on.
But let's be honest. Phelps wasn't smoking pot when he was performing, or if he was, more power to him because any man who can swim like that while high is even better than we all imagined. No, his drug use is after the fact. It's recreational, and we would not be having this public gnashing of teeth if there was a photograph of Phelps drinking a beer.
A-Rod, on the other hand, tried using PEDs while playing. He tried to game the system and gain an extra advantage when he's already a very talented guy. What he did is just a shade short of cheating and I'm not amused. All the more so because it sends the message that doing that is not only acceptable in sports, but because it could encourage kids to do it as well. We already have a problem with kids in high school attempting to purchase and use steroids to gain an advantage, in high school!, so another marquee athlete doing it is just shameful.
That's why I think he's a bigger douchebag than Michael Phelps. I'm not proud of either of them, but I'm more disappointed with A-Rod.
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