You Can't Buy Class.

When photographs showing Michael Phelps smoking pot came out, he handled the situation rather maturely. After his fairly reasonable attempts at disappearing the pictures failed (if I remember correctly he offered to write articles for the paper if they agreed to not publish), Phelps immediately admitted the legitimacy of the pictures and apologized for "[...] behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment." Phelps did not attempt to change public opinion on marijuana laws, or to gain special treatment by qualifying his actions; rather, Phelps said, "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." I disagree with the furor over Phelps' slip-up, but I do not think this situation could have been handled in a more professional manner. Phelps even went on to say that his suspension of three months was fair and warranted. Class act all around.

I can finally get to my point: a 23 year-old swimmer should not be acting more maturely and with more grace than, I don't know, maybe a Super Bowl-winning receiver or a Gold-Glove winning infielder. This isn't to say that Phelps should lower his standards, but that Plaxico and A-Roid show raise theirs.

Plaxico is not only a jerk who shot himself in the leg in a nightclub because he was holding a gun in the waistband of a pair of sweatpants, but also a person who doesn't pay any bills on time. Seriously. He has been sued at least nine times for unpaid debts since he entered the NFL in 2000. That is an average of once a year if we are generous and include 2009. Once he even paid a debt (only after a court ruling) with a check that bounced! This guy is less than two years into a five-year, $27.25 million contract, which tells me he is just being a dick for no reason. If shooting himself in the leg doesn't change his attitude, I doubt he will ever come to the point where he can be respected in the way that Phelps was and should be again.

My other example is one that is near and dear to my heart, Mr. Alex Rodriguez! I had my own reasons for hating the guy, so I was quite happy when the Red Sox 'lost' the chase for Rodriguez and the Yankees signed him to a record-breaking contract. [My hatred stemmed from both interviews watched on TV and a game I attended where A-Rod, after turning an inning-ending double play while playing for the Rangers, pretended to throw the ball to the crowd, laughed, and then took the ball into the dugout. Dick.] Now that he has finally admitted to using illegal performance enhancing drugs I can relax knowing that if he goes down as one of the best players ever it will be with a giant asterisk next to all of his statistics. I can only hope that the asterisk is composed of three syringes...a guy can dream, can't he?

A much fun as it is to watch sports stars run their names into the ground I truly hope that rookies everywhere are forced to take notes on Phelps' handling of the controversy surrounding his pot smoking. As always, money cannot buy class or grace under pressure, as Michael Vick, A-Rod, and Burress can all tell you.