Debbie Phelps on Being a Swim Parent

She is so plastic! How long is she going to feed off the reputation of her son? She didn't raise Mike by herself, why is she taking all the credit? I think she is a fake and a phony.

Bulldog; that surprises me; I get the exact opposite reaction to her; she seems very real and down to earth. Her advice is simple and matter of fact. While it's true that she didn't raise Phelps completley by herself, the father was estranged from the family for awhile so she did raise him by herself at least from 11 up when Bowman met with her to give his Olympic predictions and pitch, if not before. Michael comes across pretty down to earth too all things considered. Soemtimes he sounds a little rehearsed in interviews but I think we all would after a million interviews. I haven't seen very many interviews with her, but I'm wondering maybe you're picking up a bit of that rehearsal effect?? Though I don't.