All the fuss about Michael Phelps' bong hit seen 'round the world got me thinking about Jack Babashoff.

In 1988, I had just started working at High Times. One of the first stories to come across my desk was Babashoff's. He had sent a handwritten letter with photos to High Times. The letter began:

"This has been building up inside me for 12 years, and now I must make a confession: I smoked pot the night before I won a silver medal at the 1976 Olympics."

Babashoff was referring to the Summer Games held in Montreal during our Bicentennial. Like Phelps, he had been a member of the swimming team, about which he wrote:

"There were plenty of pot smokers on the '76 team. At least five gold medals and two silver medals were won by athletes who got high."

Jack came from a family of swimmers. His sister Shirley, who won four silver medals the same Olympics and a total of eight, is considered one of the greatest female swimmers of all time. Known as "Surley Shirley," she and her brother and other swimming sibling Debbie grew up in Whittier, California.

"I'm a swimmer," Jack wrote. "At the time, I was among the Top 10 swimmers in country. But nobody thought I would win a medal. Swimming World picked me to place seventh in the 100-meter freestyle. I was mad."

With this set-up, Jack got to the crux of the matter: Why he decided to smoke a joint on the eve of his biggest race:

"I wouldn't say that it helped me, but I wouldn't say that it hurt. My breathing was clear and my oxygen intake was fine. Smoking pot the night before helped me relax and get some sleep. I felt sharp the next morning, and finished second in the 100-meter race that evening."                 Jack Babashoff at right on medal stand in Montreal

And why exactly was Jack revealing his secret to the world 12 years later?                                 

"I'm just fed up," he wrote. "It's time that pot smokers stop hiding in the closet. It's time for us to unite and stop the persecution. If the '76 Olympic squad had been treated like today's pro teams, the caliber of our team competition would have been drastically lowered. Look at pro football and baseball today - because of fervent marijuana witch-hunting, American sports fans are watching second-rate teams."

Jack ended with this plea:

"Isn't it time we judge people on performance, not on personal habits? I smoke pot, but don't discriminate against me or other people because of that. I'm not underground anymore, so hear my message loud and clear : Come out of the Dark Ages, America - legalize marijuana."

I didn't see that coming. But now I view Jack Babashoff as an prescient voice for change in the sports and entertainment community.

You have to wonder what Jack thought when he saw Phelps sucking down that big, fat bong hit. And after Phelps apologized for said bong hit.

Right now, due to media exposure and sponsor pressure, Phelps has had to call his stoner behavior "regrettable," "bad judgment" and "inappropriate," and promise "it will not happen again.''

Perhaps marijuana has the same effect on Phelps as it had on Jack Babashoff: help him relax and sleep before a big race, and keep the oxygen flowing and breathing clear during a race. Could this be the secret to Phelps' 14 Olympic medals?

Hopefully, it won't take 12 years for us to find out.

Pic: Jack Babashoff at right on medal stand; gold medal winner Jim Montgomer, center; bronze medal winner Peter Nocke, left

Also see:
Michael Phelps: Hits from the Bong
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