Setting An Example

You had to wonder... Michael Phelps has officially been suspended from the sport of swimming for 3 months. I'm sure the pot-smoking "scandal" probably could have gone under the radar, but Phelps is waaaay too high-profile and it probably would have sent mixed messages (i.e. special treatment to stars - like that never happens) if the USA Swimming committee hadn't taken action. You know they had to publicly make some kind of example of his "shocking" behavior. However, the consequences seem to be more for show. Read a great article here for details - CNBC makes a great point regarding suspending someone for behavior in a photo, setting a dangerous precedence. It sounds like Phelps will be back in the water this summer and hopefully (most likely) all of this will have blown over by the 2012 Olympics. Don't hold grudges!