I am so relieved that Mr. I’m-Not-In-It-For-The-Money Phelps has at least started to act as I would expect any prominent person to, i.e. cash in on his moment of fame. I am not relieved that Mr. Phelps has decided to continue the oh-so-American pretext of saying he does Sports for Sports sake.
Why is it so wrong for Mr. Phelps to want to cash in? What is so horrible about wanting money? Money is the means by which we improve our own personal lives. More money means more personal power and choices. I can’t understand why this is, in itself, bad. Certainly greed exists, but Mr. Phelps is hardly being greedy. He did his homework, attended all those practice sessions, and won the spot in the Olympics. Why should we need to believe he didn’t do it for the money? Of course he did it for the money. Does anyone think the prospect of being worth some $40M would not entice someone to grab for it? (Pundits estimate that, if properly marketed, Mr. Phelps should generate about $40M for himself over the next few years).
People do things for the money– especially when great sums of it are involved. That’s why doctors become doctors, it’s certainly why lawyers become lawyers and it is also why every single John or Jane Doe in the country gets up in the morning and staggers into work to be abused, misused, pressured, compromised, terrified and stressed. Fame, good standing in the eyes of others, an excuse to think of oneself as actually special, better than others, good, holy or important and the possession of money sums up the not-so-mysterious motivations of mankind.
Mr. Phelps is only being human.
