Unit 2 Propasal: Michael Phelps

I plan on doin my Unit 2 assignment on the whole Michael Phelps pot smoking controversey.  In the past couple months Phelps has been taking a lot of heat for a picture of him ripping a bong.  The image would shake his reputation up and caused many people to lose respect in him.  However, I think it will be interesting to analyze how different people reacted to this and what they published to assert their opinion on it.  We are supposed to tie in to how we live in a culture of assertion, so by analyzing what people assert about him or even what Phelps himself said in response to the picture will definitly be interesting.  Some people assert that he is a bad role model to their kids while others try to defend the olympian.  Both sides have taken stabs at what they think about it so it will be interesting to see what their explanations on their opinions are.  I tend to find my primary sources from different news sites (CBS, NBC, ABC, ESPN) etc, etc with shows like Hardball and that good stuff have good opinions on the subject.  Also the picture itself of him smoking could be a source, as well as the statements Phelps gave after the whole incident.  Also all the online news databases with magazine articles about it, I'm certain there will be plenty to choose from.  I chose this case because I am a competitive swimmer here at TCU so I follow a lot of stuff in the swimming world.  When this hit the scene I thought it was pretty interesting to see all the different reactions that took place.  Whether you defend him or criticize him, there is evidence from both sides of it all.