After pot photo bongs image, Michael Phelps tells fans he's sorry
Sunday, February 1st 2009, 8:07 PM
The News of the World stoked a controversy with the publishing of an exclusive photo of Michael Phelps using a bong on its web site, http://www.notw.co.uk.
Phelps has publicly apologized for being caught smoking marijuana.
Olympic hero Michael Phelps said he's sorry for smoking pot at a college party last fall.
"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," Phelps said Sunday after a British newspaper splashed a photo of him smoking marijuana from a bong.
"I'm 23 years old and, despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me," he said.
"For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again."
The photo of Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, appeared in the pages of Britain's News of the World.
It was snapped during a Nov. 6 party at the University of South Carolina, where he was visiting a coed.
"He looked just as natural with a bong in his hand as he does swimming in the pool," one witness said. "He was the gold medalist of bong hits."
The paper reported that Phelps' camp offered the paper cash and a deal to have the swimmer pen a column to quash publication of the picture.
His friends and fans said the swimming phenom wouldn't be left high and dry for his antics.
"This is no way, shape or form diminishes anything he's done," said Olympic teammate Dara Torres.
USA Swimming issued a statement urging Phelps to "learn from this incident and move forward in a positive way."
This isn't the first time Phelps has been in hot water.
In 2004, a few months after winning six gold and two bronze medals in Athens, the then- 19-year-old was arrested for drunken driving in Maryland.
At the McBurney YMCA in Greenwich Village, where Phelps swam with city kids in August, parents cut him a break.
"He's entitled to a mistake," said George Ranalli, 62, who was at the pool with his 6-year-old son, Rocco. "It doesn't diminish his achievement. He did pretty well for his country."
Gerald Ribeiro, 43, said his 8-year-old son Alex and his 6-year-old daughter Eliana still idolize the swimmer.
"I don't hold it against him," he said. "I'm sure that if it happens again, he'll make sure that a camera isn't around."
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