With the Super Bowl completed, sportswriters have had time to turn their attention to the Michael Phelps story. Commentary and framing of the story has run the gamut from “It’s not a big deal” (Tanku Varadarajan and Sally Jenkins) to “It is a big deal and he should be punished” (Michael Wilbon) to “He’s getting off easy ’cuz he’s white” (Dave Hyde). Predictably, a number of writers and sources have alluded to the impact of the bong episode on “young people,” and more specifically young swimmers, their parents and their coaches.
Jo-Ann Barnas of the Detroit Free Press lamented without quoting any source, “Parents of school-age swimmers know they must have yet another heart-to-heart with their children.” Newsday ran the headline: “Michael Phelps bong photo gives chance to talk about drugs, LI coaches say,” but despite the plural reference quoted only a single coach who opined, "It’s upsetting on so many levels … It's something that he has to live with, and we have to live with as coaches and parents." Hal Habib of the Palm Beach Post quoted two youth coaches, one of whom had already discussed the incident with his swimmers. Gordon Andrews, who coaches high school and U-18 swimmers, told Habib, “One of my swimmers said, 'I don't see it as any big deal, especially after what he accomplished' … Some of the other swimmers I talked to felt his judgment was bad.” Andrews added that the most serious effect could be on U-12 swimmers, "because they sometimes see our athletes, especially someone like Phelps, as almost god-like and can do no wrong, whereas the older, teenage kids see it as bad judgment and let's get over it." A second high school coach quoted by Habib predicted, "My first gut reaction would be it would make him look more human in the eyes of the kids. They would probably be quicker to forgive than adults will. They don't see marijuana as being an illegal drug, a lot of them. They think it's more like a social drug, like alcohol."
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