Jun 22, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Michael Phelps on the backstroke leg of the 200IM final during the Championship Finals at the George F. Haines International Aquatic Center.
Credit: Reuters
It happens again and again to the best athletes on the planet.
Used to being invincible on the court, field, (or in the swimming pool), the best of the best succumb to their own hubris having spent their entire adult life and childhood honing the craft of being a pro athlete.
The best swimmer to ever live, Michael Phelps, already was known to have an affinity to smoking marijuana during the off-season. And after a reported eight-hour blackjack session, the 22-time olympic medalist was pulled over after doing 84 mph in a 45 mph zone.
Reports say the swimmer failed two sobriety tests on the scene and”appeared disoriented, argumentative, and did not attempt” a breathalyzer test upon being pulled over. He got a .14 at the station, well above Maryland’s limit of .08.
Will Phelps swim in the Olympics in 2016? It seems when without the ‘distraction’ of training for a big swimming meet, Phelps can’t help but give into his vices. But this seems to be a pattern among the best athletes to ever live. Michael Jordan with gambling, Lawrence Taylor with drugs and alcohol, Dwight Gooden and Daryl Strawberry with cocaine, and the list goes on.
Here’s wishing Phelps sticks to golf instead of driving drunk when he’s not swimming.
Follow Metro Philadelphia sports editor Evan Macy on twitter @Evan_Macy
