Soccer Dad

The regrettable redux

That was then:

"Last week, I made a mistake," Phelps said Monday night, as quoted by The Washington Post. "Getting in a car with anything to drink is wrong, dangerous and unacceptable. I'm 19 but was taught no matter how old you are, you should always take responsibility for your actions, which I will do."

"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," Phelps said in the statement released by one of his agents. "I'm 23 years old and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again."

On the one hand, these are only two incidents. And as the second article points out, if he was a regular user of marijuana, it was not at the time when he was competing. On the other hand, there are businesses that have financial stakes in Michael Phelps. Are these just two incidents that have occurred four years apart? Or are they part of a pattern? (The people who observed him with a bong, said that he looked experienced with the device.)