Thoughts on Wayward Celebs

A topic that has been on my mind a lot lately is how athletes and other celebrities are perceived by the American public. People tend to put these individuals on a pedestal that they may or may not deserve to be on. With the allegations against Michael Phelps, the positive steroids test from A-Rod and the alleged assault by Chris Brown, celebrities are probably going to be scrutinized like never before. I was not really shocked by Michael Phelps and his marijuana fiasco. I mean the guy is only 23 and just came off of one of the most remarkable accomplishments in sports history. He was enjoying his down time before he has to get serious and competitive again. I have heard that he is a party animal and while I am not excusing his actions, I wonder what the big deal is when a large amount of the American population (excluding me) have probably smoked weed before. And I didn't see any smoke coming from that bong in that picture. Who knows? He could've just been posing with the bong for kicks. He hasn't actually said that he was smoking weed. He has just apologized for a lapse in judgement. Now as for A-Rod, I was actually very upset and disappointed when I heard that he had tested positive for steroids back in '03. He is my favorite baseball player and while all the other names were coming up for steroid usage, I was hoping that he wasn't one of them. My boyfriend suspected it, citing how much bigger A-Rod had gotten over the years, but I chose to believe that he couldn't possibly do this. I am glad that he came out and admitted it and apologized as opposed to going the Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds route and denying it. Lastly, I was shocked most of all by the allegations against Chris Brown. I am a fan of his and I could not believe that he would be capable of beating up a woman. Obviously, all of the details are still forthcoming but the fact that this allegation has even come up is mind-blowing. It goes to show that you can never assume that you know a person, especially when that person is a celebrity that you only see from afar. So, that is my take on some of the issues of the day. I just wish all of the famous people would remember what their status is and make responsible choices. After all, they do live life under a microscope.