The world is now shocked... SHOCKED... to learn a 23-year-old college student has smoked pot. Since he won 8 gold medals for swimming, Michael Phelps is supposed to be different right? Yes and no. His recent fame does give him some added responsibility, and to his credit Phelps took responsibility for what he did and apologized almost instantaneously.

An apology is not really enough, but what else do they expect the guy to do? It's the responsibility of others to prosecute him (if' they're even going to try). Yeah, he should lose some of the 8 billion sponsor gigs he has gotten in the last 6 months, but that was something he probably should have cut back on anyway. I know he can swim really fast, but why should I care what internet service provider he uses?

During the Olympics the American media had a massive love-affair with Phelps, cutting away from other sports just to watch him stretch, showing features on how long his legs are. Phelps never seemed too comfortable with all the added attention, but he never turned away from it either. When the media has you under a magnifying glass, you really do need to watch every step you take. Now that he's made a mistake, the media seems quick to turn on him.

I'm not a religious person but perhaps the lesson in this for everyone is to avoid worshiping false idols. Humans make mistakes, building them up to be something above all that only leads to a fall from grace.