why, just why?

you all know the story of the summer. michael phelps dominated the olympics. 8 gold medals, that's a record. the sport of swimming was brought into the spotlight, people began to take interest. we had something to be proud of. all that has literally gone to pot. everything is now tainted and will never be looked at the same. photos of mr superstar were smoking marijuana were leaked. the whole world saw them. i just want to know why he did it in the first place.

he was on top of the world. everyone knew who he was. 8 gold medals. a hero to a many young swimmers. and what does he do, he goes and smokes some pot. real cool. reaaaaal coooool. yes he's young and yes, he's a superstar athlete, but when it comes down to it he is no more above the law than anyone. marijuana is illegal, end of story. i don't care what you have to say to try to argue why he shouldn't get punished or whatever, illegal is illegal. he deserves whatever he gets.

alex rodriguez. arguably one of baseball's best. nope, not anymore. reputation tarnished. he admitted to taking steroids from 2001-2003. why did he do this, because he felt pressured to live up to his all star reputation. once again, i don't care. illegal is still illegal. he should not get off the hook just because he's some superstar. i'm tired of seeing articles trying to spin it off as it being not such a big deal. he also deserves what he gets, he knowingly took steroids.

roger clemens, barry bonds, the list goes on and on and on. all i want to know is why? they have effectively made it impossible for me to hold any respect for them. this goes beyond the range of just sports, this applies to everyday life. why do we feel the need to cheat? i know there are kids who are just skating by, cheating off every assignment and test. they do because they are lazy. they have better things to do with their lives, duh.

these people are supposed to be role models. they're supposed to show us what we can accomplish we a lot of hard work, dedication, and a little talent. today's role models are cheaters. or in the case of michael phelps, i'm not even sure what name to give him. these people are not role models. the only thing they're telling us is that it's okay to cheat to get ahead or it's okay to smoke marijuana. why should we have to work hard? there's always going to be someone finding a way around doing the work, that's the message i'm getting.