Hero to Zero?

When I picked Julianna up from art class today, the first thing she said to me was, "Mom, I told Ms. Erin the bad news." (Erin is her art teacher).

"Really?" I said. "What's the bad news?"

"Michael Phillips used mara-lana." (Translation: Michael Phelps used marijuana).

Not exactly what I expected her to say.

But to give some background ... on the way to school this morning, we were talking about the bad decisions some athletes make. Some of the names that came up were Alex Rodriguez (steroids), Barry Bonds (steroids), and Michael Phelps (pot).

The conversation prompted some pretty big questions, but with my kids, that comes with the territory.

Julianna and LJ asked questions about the what, when, where, why and how of Phelps' lapse in judgment. And we also talked about the three-month suspension handed down by USA Swimming.

I asked the kids if they thought it was a fair penalty.

Julianna: "Yes. Because he didn't think before he did it."

LJ: "No. It's not fair because A-Rod used steroids and didn't get punished at all."

Interesting point.

I didn't want to get into all the details of how, when A-Rod was using steroids, they were illegal in the U.S. but not in baseball. And I didn't want to delve into the finer points of recreational drugs vs. performance enhancers.

But I did tell the kids that this wasn't the first time Phelps had blundered. I told them about how he also "made a mistake" back in 2004 and was arrested for DUI.

That new piece of information changed LJ's perspective on Phelps' most recent offense.

"If you use an excuse more than once, it's not a mistake," said LJ.

That is some serious insight from a a second grader. Falls under the "fool me once" category.

I am hoping that in the near future, I can flip that logic on LJ and throw it right back at him.

In the end, both LJ and Julianna admitted to being "bummed" by Phelps' behavior. While everyone is entitled to make mistakes, it's disappointing when the person is a very public figure who is respected by so many young kids.

Fortunately, I can always count on LJ to put everything in perspective.

To him, Phelps' failures out of the pool don't tarnish a single one of the 14 Olympic gold medals he has earned. In LJ's opinion, Phelps just has a little trouble respecting authority.

"You know, Mom," LJ said. "Michael Phelps may be good at swimming, but he is NOT good at following the law!"