I Admire a Pot Smoker

Do not get me wrong. I think smoking marijuana is an awful thing to do. It messes up the brain. Michael Phelps exhibited horrible judgment when he decided to light up.

I admire him because he came out and admitted that what he did was wrong. He did not equivocate ala President Clinton: "I didn't inhale."

Phelps said of his ban:

"It's not my decision. It's theirs," Phelps said of USA Swimming's decision. "I have nothing to say, but if that's they want to do, that's their choice. It's something that USA Swimming came up with. It's fair. Obviously, for a mistake you should get punished."

He later said:

"It was bad and stupid judgment, and something I'll always live with," Phelps said.

(These quotes are from an ESPN article.)

Thank you, Michael Phelps for manning up and taking responsibility for what you did. You made a bad decision, but you did not blame someone else or deny the charges. We all mess up, and the best thing we can do is stand up and take responsibility for them.