Have you seen the full-page newspaper ads for the “Get Motivatedâ€Â seminar?

The lead pitchman? Michael Phelps.

He promises to teach you “How to sharpen your competitive edge.â€Â

Insert your own joke here.

They don̢۪t make cultural icons like they used to. Last year̢۪s golden boy morphed from an in-demand superstar to the butt of jokes overnight. All because someone took a picture of him inhaling out of a bong and sold the photo to a British tabloid.

But spare me the “Oh, he’s only 23â€Â excuse.

Phelps wants to use that excuse. In his public statement after he fled Tampa in the wake of the embarrassing photo revelation he apologized. But he qualified his words by noting that he’s 23 and “acted in a youthful and inappropriate way.â€Â

I’m not the pot police, though marijuana is on the Olympic list of banned substances so it’s a very bad look for “the Greatest Olympian of All Time.â€Â

I have sympathy with kids who make mistakes. As the mother of teenagers, I know full well that the concept of consequences is a purely theoretical idea for many young people.

But I have a problem with Phelps trying to pass off his blunder as a youthful indiscretion. Because 23-year-olds know better than anyone — certainly better than anyone my age — that there is no such thing as privacy. Members of his generation live their lives publicly: on their phones, on Facebook. They know exactly what damage can be done with a tiny cell phone at a crowded party.

I also have a problem with excusing Phelps because he̢۪s a normal 23-year-old. There̢۪s nothing normal about Phelps and hasn̢۪t been for years.

I spent much of my summer watching Phelps, though I usually couldn̢۪t see him. That̢۪s because there was a crowd of reporters 15 to 20 deep every time he dripped his way past the interview area in Beijing. Because his news conferences were standing-room only. Because he was mobbed and observed everywhere he went.

He̢۪s not some stoner kid, lounging on the couch, pondering why Homer Simpson is such a great actor. He is a superstar in the spotlight. He set a mind-blowing goal of eight gold medals, he met it and he cashed in big time.

Among the rewards: a hefty contract from Speedo plus a million-dollar bonus that he planned to use for a foundation “to encourage children to lead healthy, active lives.â€Â A new deal with Mazda. A contract with Omega watches. Endorsement deals with McDonald’s and Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes (those make sense). He appeared on “Oprah,â€Â “The Tonight Showâ€Â and David Letterman. He got a book deal. He was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year. His mom even cashed in with an endorsement.

Omega, Speedo and Mazda say they are standing behind Phelps. My calls to Get Motivated went unreturned earlier this week. I wanted to find out if Phelps is still scheduled to tell paying customers how to “establish and maintain the competitive advantage.â€Â

Phelps already has gotten one free pass. Already a star from the Athens Games, he was arrested for driving under the influence in 2004. But in Beijing, the word was that he had matured. That he was ready to accept the responsibility that came with the spotlight. He talked about being a role model for young athletes: his words, not a label the media tried to hang on him.

He’s the one who said after winning his eighth gold medal that his main goal was to raise the profile of swimming as “high as I can get it.â€Â

By Ann Killion / McClatchy Tribune