Who messed up more-Phelps or A-Rod?

Arod. No question.

Yeah this really shouldnt be a question at all.

Phelps, for sure. But, I heard he was just invited to become Obama's new Drug Czar. So, maybe things will work out for him in the end.

I thought A-Froid was half truthful. I don't believe he had his own epiphany about roiding up though. I think the threat of testing is what turned the corner for him. A-Froid always wants to make everyone happy and do the "right" thing. At the time, Roids was that "right" thing to do. It soon became the wrong thing.

Still worse than smoking a little weed.

If Phelps' PR people were able to divert the black eye of a DUI, I think they will make this disappear from the public mindset even faster. I consider it a non-issue. He fessed up, apologized, acted mature, and he has the support of his sport's governing body. He was given a slap on the wrist, and once he's in the pool again, this will disappear.

A-Rod, on the other hand, is a super-star on a team laden with super-stars, and he was brought in as "the best player in baseball" for the year he was using them. Ironically, though A-Rod broke no laws and Phelps did, A-Rod will come under much more scrutiny. Baseball is a bigger sport here in the US than swimming is. Phelps is in our face once every 4 years when he shows up to bring us gold. A-Rod is in our face every day for 6-7 months of the year, every year.

No comparison... I won't say who screwed up more, but I can tell you who will be screwed over more.

Definitely Phelps messed up more. He could potentially lose his sponsors and could have faced a much longer ban. Baseball won't do shit to Arod and he will continue making millions of dollars a year.

This doesn't mean I think Phelps' act was worse than Arod's. Just the opposite, but Phelps definitely took a greater risk than Arod.

In the post above we have two different answers, both stating "no question, it was x," but none of the posts give any reason.

I think it depends on what you mean more by messed up. Phelps had a pretty short window to make big bucks off the 2008 Olympics, and he really screwed up. So in terms of who lost more dough, the answer is easily Phelps. But unlike Phelps, A-Rod actually cheated. He did a drug that gave him an unfair advantage in the sport he played, so from a moral stand point, I think it's clear A-Rod screwed up more. But the bulk of A-Rods money comes from his salary which isn't likely to be diminished, and he's already a made a Brink's truck full of dough.

So from a financial point of view, Phelps and from a moral point of view. A-Rod.

themanontherun wrote:

He fessed up, apologized, acted mature ...

In no way did he act mature. He said he "acted youthfully" or something like that, and instead of issuing an unequivocal apology he essentially went through the motions. Although he doesn't have a legal responsibility to anyone the guy has tons of kids who look up to him and he has a moral responsibility to be a good role model.

Being that this is letsrun I'm sure someone will say that he has no moral responsibility, etc. Well ... yes, he does. Your opinion (that he has no responsiblity) is noted, but it's a stupid opinion without basis in reality.

Also, I have to wonder why the best swimmer in the world feels the need to do dgrugs. When I've been in the best shape some junk food didn't even sound good to me and I felt physically great all the time. It just doesn't make much sense.

" When I've been in the best shape some junk food didn't even sound good to me and I felt physically great all the time. It just doesn't make much sense."

Ah yes, the good old-fashioned n=1 anecdote.

A few points: To those saying Phelps screwed up from a business standpoint - didn't he keep most, if not all, his endorsements? Isn't he backed by the IOC? I don't understand how this really hurt him all that much. Most people really don't give a crap.

To the above poster who was wondering why the best swimmer in the world does this - he ISN'T in the best shape of his life right now. Isn't this the time that swimmers take a looooooong break after the Olympics?

This really shouldn't even be a question. Phelps won't really lose anything from this - he didn't cheat his sport. ARod did. He will not only lose a LARGE amount of respect from the general public, not only for his character but also for his ability, he will lose an even LARGER amount of respect from those within the game. Yes, everybody knows it happens and I am sure quite a few do it - but when you essentially screw up your chances to get into your sports Hall of Fame then you are in trouble.

Besides, what Phelps did isn't even illegal around the world. ARod's "screw-up" is considered wrong worldwide, from the general public, as well as all his peers.

No, he doesn't you dumbass. Do you know what swimmers are supposed to do? Swim. Blahblahblah he came into the spotlight knowingly blahblahblah, none of this bullshit matters. He didn't opt to become a swimmer to be a role model, he chose to be a swimmer because he liked it/was good at it. If he wanted to be a good role model, he could have become a pastor or joined Focus on the Family or some other nonsense bullshit. *Cue "it doesn't matter if he wanted it or not, he's still a role model"*. Guess what, next time you're thrust in a position that demands stupidly high pressure and expectations and screw up, don't expect anyone to feel bad for you.

Don't let Phelps off the hook so quickly - although I agree with you to some degree. We certainly hold these athletes to "stupidly high pressure" but at the same time he did SIGN the contract that pays him all the money to be jammed down our (and our kids') throats. He wasn't "thrust" into any positions he didn't ask for. He knowingly signed his contracts and received the paychecks for being a spokesman for multiple large corporations - and as such has to hold himself to a certain standard of appropriate behavior in the public eye.

Arod wouldn't be as a god as he is without roids so he didn't screw up. He just got caught. He's still better off than if he never juiced.

Phelps actually took a hit (no pun intended) to his career doing something that doesn't help him get any better.

From a pragmatic standpoint, this hurts Phelps more so he messed up worse. Both are better of than any of us are though, so w/e.

HAHAHA you fools RAMROD has definitely smoked weed before along with admitting steroid use so guess who's the biggest loser!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alan Webb is more messed up than these two.

themanontherun wrote:

Ironically, though A-Rod broke no laws and Phelps did, A-Rod will come under much more scrutiny.

A-Rod broke laws. Because the government knows that "steroids is bad" they outlawed them without a valid prescription. In fact, they had some doctors on the news saying that it has been illegal to even write a prescription for one of the substances for any reason in the US since 1989.

hungry webb wrote:

Alan Webb is more messed up than these two.

how is this so?

3/10

Phelps broke the law, but did not cheat.

A-Rod broke the law, and technically did not cheat by the MLB's standards at the time.

Regardless, a little bit of weed does not help Phelps break world records .. while roids have likely aided A-Fraud's performance.

No brainer.