Those who have swilled from the trough of the Michael Phelps hyperbole will have the toughest time accepting the reality that the object of their rampant adulation is humanly flawed like everybody else.

And I can't help but laugh.

Hasn't everyone figured out by now that sports should be out of the myth-making business?

But it doesn't stop the manufacturing of paper gods, momentarily satisfying the public's unquenchable thirst for erecting idols that stand taller than their mortal subordinates. Maybe Phelps' fall from grace finally will convince all that we're not creating heroism through sports, only celebrity.

True heroism exists in anonymity.

That distinction doesn't absolve Phelps from the responsibilities of being a role model. He screwed up big-time.

The anointed deity of the Beijing Olympics admitted to "regrettable" behavior and "bad judgment" after a photo in a British newspaper showed him inhaling from a bong. Phelps didn't get into specifics, but that's a piece of paraphernalia usually associated with illegal substances like marijuana.

A spokesman for the Richland County, S.C., sheriff's office said Tuesday that it's investigating the episode and could file criminal charges against Phelps.

"The bottom line is," Lt. Chris Cowan told The Associated Press, "if he broke the law and he did it in Richland County, he's going to be charged."

When you willingly accept the trappings of stardom that come with a record eight gold medals in one Olympics, you cannot make that tricky U-turn back to youthful indiscretion. His idiotic behavior should cost Phelps some endorsements.

He made a mistake, but the greater lapse in judgment belongs to those responsible for the canonization.

Star athletes remain most attractive to those seeking the right image for selling everything from shoes to cereal. That's fine. But call them what they are: merchandising shills.

It's curious, though, how those who know Phelps only through his carefully crafted prism remain fiercely protective of his heroic image.

"What's the big deal? It was only pot."

"He owned up to it and apologized for his mistake. Let it go."

"He's still only 23 years old. What do you expect a 23-year-old to do?"

But ask yourself this? If the damning photograph implicating Phelps involved a 23-year-old NBA or NFL star with no pattern of prior recklessness, would there be the same rush to dismiss their actions as an innocent mistake?

I doubt it.

He'd get branded as just another thug.

Santonio Holmes made one of the great clutch touchdown catches in NFL history in the final seconds of Super Bowl XLIII. Shouldn't that remove the specter of his arrest in October on marijuana possession, resulting in a one-game team suspension?

According to the police report, Holmes was cooperative and contrite. He wasn't belligerent. He readily owned up to his mistake.

Holmes admitted to the Miami Herald a few days before the Super Bowl that as a teenager he sold drugs on a street corner near his Florida home. He thought it was time that he publicly acknowledged the poor decisions of his youth.

Maybe it would serve as an example to others at that age doing the same things because they don't believe there's a lawful alternative to changing their lives.

Applying the new Phelps standard for decorum when busted, shouldn't Holmes get a free pass because he has fully acknowledged his sins and appears repentant?

Terrain turns tricky when placing athletes on a pedestal that demands an unattainable perfection. That doesn't excuse their transgressions, and they must be held accountable. But where is the accountability for those looking for heroism in all the wrong places?