MISTAKES AND HEROES

Another sports "hero" has fallen off his pedestal. Michael Phelps was pictured smoking pot through a bong on the front page of the British tabloid, News of the World. Or to put it in other words, another role model "gone to pot."

Phelps, who received world-wide acclaim for winning a record eight gold medals in swimming at the Beijing olympics, has received millions of dollars in commercial endorsements for his unprecedented feat. So far, only cereal maker Kellogg has announced it will not renew its lucrative sponsorship contract with the pot smoking role model. It is possible that other sponsors may follow suit.

To his credit, Phelps immediately 'fessed up' to his transgression. Unlike Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, both of whom appear to have lied when they denied ever using any steroids and human growth hormones, Phelps publicly admitted his "mistake" and apologized to his fans.

This brings me to comment on a couple of frequently misused words - mistakes and heroes. Does one make a mistake when he intentionally commits a wrongful act. Not to my way of thinking! A mistake is when you add three and three and come up with five. A mistake is when you're driving and turn right instead of left. A mistake is when you overcook the Thanksgiving Day turkey.

The illegal use of steroids and growth hormones is not a mistake. It's a crime. Thefts, fraud, assaults, rapes and smoking pot are not mistakes. They're all crimes. So, when Phelps and other wrongdoers admit to making a mistake, are they really confessing to breaking the law, or do they mean getting caught was the mistake they made?

Hero! It sickens me to see how often the word is misused. Michael Phelps, Michael Jordan, Muhammed Ali (who refused to serve his country when he was drafted during the Vietnam War), Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and a legion of other star athletes are not heroes. They're outstanding sports figures. They're stars and entertainers, but not heroes. They may well be role models. But no matter how outstanding, they have not earned the honor of being called a hero.

A hero is someone who risks his own life trying to save the life of another person or risks his life on behalf of his country. Our front-line troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are heroes. A firefighter rushing into a burning building is a hero. A cop facing down a dangerous criminal is a hero. And so is someone who crawls out on a frozen pond in an attempt to save the life of an animal that has broken through the ice. These true heroes deserve far more recognition than a bunch of star athletes with inflated egos.

Take O.J. Simpson. Like most other athletes, he never ever did anything even remotely heroic. He never risked his life to save someone else's. He never served a day in the military, nor a day as a firefighter or police officer. Yet Simpson was worshipped as a hero by millions of American football fans for running over and around opposing players. And though he fell from his pedestal when he was arrested for murdering his ex-wife and Ron Goldman, his die-hard fans continue to consider O.J. a hero. What an awful misuse of the word!

On the other hand there was Pat Tillman. He gave up a solid pro football career to serve his country by enlisting in the army after 9/11. Tillma was killed in action while serving on the front lines in Afghanistan. Now there is a true hero! His heroism had absolutely nothing to do with sports. By his sacrifice, Tillman has exposed all those other star athletes as fake heroes.