Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Now that the Michael Phelps witch hunt is officially over, its time to take a critical look back at what amounted to an enormous waste of taxpayer money.
Richland County (S.C.) sheriff Leon Lott announced yesterday that his department would no longer consider pursuing charges against Phelps for smoking from a glass bong at a University of South Carolina party the Olympic champion attended more than three months ago.
“We had a photo and we had him saying he was sorry for his inappropriate behavior. That behavior could’ve been going to a party,” Lott said at the press conference announcing charges would not be pursued against Phelps. “He never said, ‘I smoked marijuana.’ He never confessed that.”
And this took more than two weeks to figure out? I thought this investigation was under the control of professional investigators.
The facts were apparent from the very beginning. Even Phelps didn’t dispute what happened, though he never came out and explicitly said he smoked marijuana.
He attended a party when he visited South Carolina’s campus in November. He smoked something — which one can guess was probably marijuana — from a glass bong. He drank. He acted like a 23-year-old letting off a little steam after the years of training, promotions and worldwide travel that allowed him to win eight gold medals this summer in China.
He admitted it. He was wrong. He knows it. I know it. And Leon Lott knows it. But to pursue charges or even entertain the thought? That was blatant self-promotion by a public official elected to protect and serve the 340,000 residents of Richland County.
Come on, Leon. How many people are smoking pot in Richland County as I type this? Go after them. Go after violent criminals. What how about deadbeat dads? Forget even them. Sexual predators deserve your utmost attention, Mr. Lott.
Put money into preventive measures. Do something, anything, productive. Just don’t drum up national media attention for something so inconsequential.
PERFECT TIME FOR CLEMENTE SUSPENSION
Is it just me, or did this whole Denis Clemente disciplinary issue come at exactly the right time for Kansas State?
Wildcats coach Frank Martin had to discipline his junior guard in some way after two heavily publicized incidents involving Clemente during Saturday’s Sunflower Showdown, one with Brady Morningstar and another with Tyrel Reed.
Luckily for K-State, Clemente’s conduct came one game before a scintillating matchup with North Carolina Central Tuesday night, for which he was suspended.
Wait ... North Carolina who? Here is a brief glimpse of what the Wildcats had to overcome without Clemente.
The North Carolina Central Eagles are 2-24 this season following Tuesday night’s defeat. Not surprisingly, they are also 0-17 on the road, including losses to Kansas State, Wake Forest, Arkansas, Michigan and South Carolina, among others.
If the Wildcats go on to earn an NCAA Tournament bid, they can look back at this stroke of luck as a small part of what helped get them there.
— — Edited by Chris Horn
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