Sports and Marijuana: A Media Circus

The conflict between marijuana and American sports is becoming a circus.

Seriously.

When Olympian Michael Phelps was humiliated after his private (bong) business was leaked to the American public, I was angry. I have a simple question for those concerned by athletes' marijuana use:

Are these fiascoes really worth it?

There is wide debate in this country and around the world as to whether or not marijuana should be legalized, but that isn't even the point. The point is that we as Americans start too much drama around the marijuana issue, and the only reason for it is so that the news media can make money off of the losers who wait around to devour headlines featuring celebrities smoking grass.

It seems as though there are some sick people in this country who just like to see athletes fail.

Whether it's Michael Phelps, who represented our country sensationally in the 2008 Summer Olympics by winning eight gold medals, or B.J. Raji, the Boston College defensive tackle wrongly accused of failing the drug tests at the NFL Combine, we're picking fights with people who could otherwise be our heroes.

Insofar, famous athletes' personal marijuana use has not ruined their careers or the content of their character. Do you really think that Phelps or any other athlete is going to smoke so much pot that they won't be able to continue to be stars or won't be able to do good things for our communities?

Why are they suddenly ruled out as role models?

The only way we're destroying the chance for Phelps, Raji, or NFL combine positive-testers Florida WR Percy Harvin or North Carolina WR Brandon Tate to inspire our children is by leaking senseless news stories about minor issues.

Without the sensationalism, they'd still be heroes.

Consider this: The aforementioned Harvin, whose drug test for marijuana came back positive, was suggested by sports media to possibly fall out of the first round at the 2009 NFL Draft.

But that didn't happen. As if something so silly would keep an athlete like him from being drafted, the Minnesota Vikings picked up up as the 22nd pick in the first round.

Talent is thicker than controversy.