We can learn from Phelps' mistakes

Olympic phenom Michael Phelps has jeopardized his career - maybe not his swimming career, but certainly his ability to make millions of dollars a year on his image - by being caught in a photo smoking pot.

We see time and again that our sports heroes are caught doing dumb, self destructive and illegal things like this.

Part of what drives this behavior is the pressure to be perfect. Part of it is that young Olympic-caliber athletes like Phelps have all-consuming vocations - from a very early age. Much of their lives is so structured that they aren't allowed to be kids in any real sense. They aren't given a lot of latitude to fail small and learn from those mistakes, as the rest of us do.

Part of our fascination with their foibles is that they make them more like us.

One of Phelps' sponsors is General Mills, the makers of Wheaties. Phelps has appeared on their cereal box.

There have been many seemly infallible gems who have graced the box that holds America's Breakfast of Champions: Mary Lou Retton. Chris Evert. Tiger Woods. And our very own Walter Payton.

But every once in a while in the cereal aisle you'll find a guy like Mark McGwire and all-around train wreck Dennis Rodman, superstars who for various reasons fell on their faces. We're sure General Mills regrets some of those choices more than they'll ever regret choosing Michael Phelps.

At least Phelps didn't take performance-enhancing drugs, bet on his meets or become a complete jerk.

We don't condone Phelps' pot smoking or his DUI four years ago, but we do recognize them as things that sometimes befall kids who find themselves in the wrong crowd, have no outlet other than their sport and are expected not just to be good but perfect. Add the pressures of worldwide fame in one's teens, and something bad is bound to happen.

We hope that Phelps learns from his errors in judgment and that he receives proper counsel from those who love him.

Perhaps this should tell us that we should cast a wider net in our search for role models. Make it a habit to celebrate those with brains and a desire to help others, too.

Let's not give up on Michael Phelps as a model of sporting excellence, because that hasn't changed.

The more constructive thing would be to use this as an opportunity for parents to provide some perspective for their kids.

They're all talking about it. So view this episode as a way to bring up the subject at home. Especially with your student athletes.

This illustrates that even the most perfect of us are still flawed.

Back in 1934, Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy, made the Wheaties box.

Jack Armstrong was perfect.

Of course, he was also a fictional character.