Comments on: Michael Phelps blows off IBM

Even in light of recent events, the Olympian remained a scheduled keynote speaker at IBM Pulse 2009. But he ended up canceling his appearance at the last minute.

[skillingssucks]

Yeah, a guy smokes a little pot and you call it "juvenile". All would have been okay in the world had it been alcohol instead, right? The problem isn't him; it's people like with your screwed up notions. Fool.

[pigmond]

I call it stupid.

Most (if not all) of the endorsements he signed will have moral clauses as an out for the sponsor. If you need your pot so much that you need to smoke it in public and threaten your income / job, so be it. You get what you deserve.

[skillingssucks]

You're missing point Einstein. It shouldn't be an issue at all. When do get what you deserve in life? Huh?

[sanenazok]

@skillingsucks: duh, weed is illegal, booze is not, especially since Phelps is 23! On the other hand, if there was a photo of him drunk and getting his car keys "to drive to the pool, MAN!!!!" then that would obviously be very stupid. Doing something illegal is wrong, regardless of whether you approve of the law or not. I'm pretty sure Phelps himself called this childish.

[Penguinisto]

Whether it should or should not be an issue... is not the issue. The fact remains that he screwed up his career, and did so knowingly. That's not making a statement, that's just plain idiocy.

Trust me - if I were getting paid millions upon millions of bucks to conduct myself in a certain way, I would do my level best to avoid doing anything so patently stupid as, say, even pretending to take a hit off of a bong.

[skillingssucks]

Was it illegal for Rosa Parks not to give up her seat and move to the back of the bus? Was it wrong? Phelps was forced to say what he said for economic reasons.

[skillingssucks]

Penguinisto, he didn't screw up his career at all, stop be so melodramatic. It's nothing more than temporary blip, before everyone forgets. He's "screwed up" his career about as much as Clinton, Bush and Obama did...and that's not much.

[Penguinisto]

Rosa parks was willing to take the punishment along with the glory in the name of the cause she supported. Phelps OTOH caved and cried about how he was sorry.

Parks specifically did what she did to make a statement against gross injustice. Phelps did what he did to try and look cool for his buddies.

Anyone else see the vast difference between these two human beings and their behavior? Thought so.

"It's nothing more than temporary blip, before everyone forgets."..

...him.

You missed that last part. Unlike a president, Phelps doesn't have much going for him outside of a few weeks in last year's Olympics.

[sanenazok]

@skillingsucks: pot smokers ain't Rosa Parks, or Nelson Mandela.

[polaris20]

As I'm sure you know every behind the scenes detail of the situation, I'm thankful for your insight! ;)

[logictrap]

We have several presidents who have admitted to the same thing and a few who haven't.

Maybe he's on track to be the next president. Cut him some slack.

[a2rooster]

good god, John Daley? Tonya Harding?

shut it fool.

[djson1]

How can Jon Oltsik compare Phelps to Tonya Harding (John Daly, I don't know much about nor care to). Phelps never tried to hurt anybody...all he did was some messing around at a private party and the media is making out to make him some villian. I think all the feedback from the public is clear: "WE DO NOT THINK IT'S A BIG DEAL SO LEAVE HIM ALONE". The majority of the general public most likely sees no reason to "hate" Phelps. Oh..and the IBM thing? Maybe we should find out why he had to cancel on IBM before we start jumping to conclusions. I'm sure IBM can handle the small disappointment. It's irresponsible journalism (if you can call it that) that makes the public angry. Jon, don't give up your day job (unless it's full time journalism).

[skillingssucks]

Oltsik makes those comparisons because complete and utter moron, that's why. I have no idea why CNET lets asshat's of the likes of him to write articles for this site.

[viper396]

This entire article is about things the author "imagined" may have happened behind the scenes. Is that how CNET news articles are written now?...Imagine, pretend, and make up details then write about it?

This is on par with something you would read in a supermarket tabloid.

[tacit]

*blink* *blink*

Okay, so let me get this straight. A person who smokes pot recreationally is placed in the same league as John Daly, who has been arrested for physically abusing his wife, and Tonya Harding, who hired someone to assault and batter a competitor.

When a journalist can't differentiate between the moral value of violent and non-violent crimes, I weep for the morality of the nation.

[Penguinisto]

A crime is a crime is a crime... you may not agree with the comparisons (they do seem a bit extreme), but the fact remains that he did break the law (or at least appeared to).

Then again, if HArding can do it, maybe Phelps can get a slot on "World's Dumbest..."?

[skillingssucks]

I think you might be in the running for that slot too, Penguinisto.

[sanenazok]

@penguin Phelps should totally go for celebrity boxing. Better yet make sure he's back to swimming already so we don't have to hear about him (and the sport) until 2012.

[Penguinisto]

@skillings: LOL! Nice... but seriously skillings - you have no argument here. Phelps was making an actual crime look cool. It doesn't matter whether or not the law behind banning pot is just or not - fact is, he did a dumb thing, and got to pay for it (at least financially).

sanenazok: he's got the reach, but them arms look a bit too rubbery to hold up for more than three rounds :)

[php_toeknee]

Smoking pot isn't juvenile and embarrassing behavior. Millions of responsible adults smoke marijuana. Read the facts and get your head out of your ass. I am boycotting Kellogg's because they gave Phelps a contract even though he was caught drinking and driving at 19, yet dump him for smoking a plant that's MUCH SAFER than alcohol.

I'm curious what you call the millions of people around the world that go to bars and ingest alcoholic beverages that are toxic to your stomach, brain and liver...

and is alcohol is one of the leading preventable causes of death among teens?

[Penguinisto]

It is perfectly legal to grow and consume it here (Oregon) for medicinal purposes. In that particular case, hey - no problems... relief for massive and/or chronic physical pain is a very human endeavor.

That said, dude, it IS juvenile to toke it for "recreational uses". Just like binge drinking (or drinking to get buzzed) is juvenile. Only the immature seek it. Adults face down and conquer their problems, not try and escape them with a mind-bending chemical just for a few moments of artificial joy.

[biffhenerson]

A druggy is a druggy no matter how you grow it or use it or color it with fancy words. Its as clear as black and white.

[go_blue_go]

Glad to hear you are boycotting Kellogg's - I agree - its nothing that should be illegal. I hope you are supporting IBM now because of their mature stance in continuing to support Michael Phelps, even after the incident (don't tell me you own an apple!). I was at the conference, and admittedly, I would much rather see Magic Johnson anyways - but interest in hearing from Phelps was only increased by his recent incident.

It does blow that he made a deal and opted out of it at the last minute however - ESPECIALLY when IBM was still behind him.

[jpbgmail]

Idiotic conclusions from the article. (Ah well, what to expect from this reporter).

Dude's done more in his lifetime than most folks ever will, smokes some weed in 'privacy' without hassling anyone, and here go the morality police.
Ok, he probably shouldn't have canceled on IBM, but hey, understandable given the situation.

Please though, cut Phelps some slack. He's human - and 23, you know ..

[skillingssucks]

...and the thing of it is; is that this moron (Oltsik) isn't even a reporter. He just some clueless analyst from the Enterprise Strategy Group that CNET allowed to write here.

[go_blue_go]

Agreed - his accomplishments are even more impressive considering the extensive "lack of motivation" he must have had to battle :) Kidding, kidding. He is 23 - what do people expect? IBM certainly understood the risk, as does anyone.

[bmelendy]

Er... Slow week there Jon?

[cmstratton]

I have to say I think the media is blowing the whole Phelps situation way out of proportion. So he smoked some pot - so what. He wasn't beating his girlfriend, shooting anyone, etc. He wasn't hurting anyone.

That said, Phelps seems like a smart guy. He should be smart enough to know that the media and public will over-react when things like this happen. However unfair it is, his celebrity holds him to a different standard than most people and he needs to act accordingly. If he wants to smoke pot - fine, but he needs to do it in private now that he's in the public eye, and certainly not allow pictures to be taken of him.

I think it's ridiculous we as a society consider an adult smoking some put such a big deal. But Phelps needs to understand the consequences if his private life gets into the public.

[viper396]

Of course the media is blowing it out of proportion. That's the way the media is.

Unfortunately, the only thing society likes to see more then someone's success, is to see them fail and stumble. It's a negative aspect of human nature and humanity.

[jeverettk]

"Kicking them in the teeth"??? Talk about overblown exaggeration. The guy didn't kick anyone in the teeth. He excused himself in the midst of a major public embarrassment. It's standard practice to lay low. IBM should have (and probably did) already lined up a backup to fill.

You're just using the whole pot scandal to squeeze one more article out of a ****** situation, and frankly, it doesn't seem like many are buying it.

[commsoft]

I have to agree with the majority of the commenters here Mr. Oltsik - while it's obnoxious of Phelps to pull out at the last second, equating people who smoke pot with people who commit violent assaults is uncalled for, illogical and irresponsible.

I suppose next you'll be telling us that getting a speeding camera ticket puts you in the same neighborhood as people who rob banks on video...

[zenwaves]

Lay off Phelps, he's a kid.

[sanenazok]

I support Phelps. He owned up to having done something wrong. He needs to keep a low profile now and IBM should get some silver-medal gymnasts instead! They might have low self esteem now. Check the ages first, though.

[pceasy]

No sir you are the one who is juvenile. You are speculating about how "angry" IBM must be. How do you know that? Do you know why Mr. Phelps canceled this appearance? No, probably not. What do you think happened? Do you think that because he was pictured smoking a bong - that he decided to stay out late and party in Vegas instead of attending his appearance?

Mr Phelps is no juvenile. He did something this summer in Beijing that nobody else in the world has been able to do. He made this country proud. I think we need to report this post, it's incomplete and mostly speculative.

[balaranjany]

Come on, give him a break.
I don't even want to try coca-cola, that doesn't make me one of the best. Because he smoked pot, it doesn't make him bad either.
Be sensible, don't be sinsible.

[pjk0]

Phelps is no more "juvenile" than anyone else that indulges in some sort of mild intoxicant from time-to-time. (ie most adult humans) What a joke.

Who cares there are stupid federal marijuana laws? It's illegal to spit on the street or have oral sex in lots of places in this country too. Until every idiot that takes potshots at Phelps acknowledges that they have never in their life tasted an alchoholic beverage, I say those in glass houses should stop casting stones and grow up. They're the ones being "juvenile".

[pjk0]

Speaking of psychotropic drugs, I'd like to see how many UN-incarcerated people we would have left if we jailed everyone who took a damn anti-depressant , tranquilizer or sleep-aid pill every damn day of their lives.

[cracm]

I just keep thinking about how Rosa Parks got arrested for breaking the law. Her illegal actions were quite embarrassing and juvenile as well.

[Penguinisto]

Rosa parks was willing to take the punishment along with the glory in the name of the cause she supported. Phelps OTOH caved and cried about how he was sorry.

Parks specifically did what she did to make a statement against gross injustice. Phelps did what he did to try and look cool for his buddies.

See the diff?