Michael Phelps is in a pool of hot water after the Olympic superstar was photographed at a college party smoking from a pipe. He quickly apologized to his sponsors paying him millions of dollars for his role model image the world by issuing this statement to the AP today:
"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. 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. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again."
The picture was taken in November when the swim champ stopped by the University of South Carolina at Columbia to visit a girl he was "secretly seeing."
The News of the World website, which broke the story, had this eyewitness report from another partygoer:
“He arrived with a group of girls hanging all over him. Jaws hit the floor when he walked in. You don’t get many celebrities in Columbia, so when Phelps comes to your party it’s a very big deal.“He didn’t know many people so you’d think he’d be a little shy. But he was loud, obnoxious and slamming beers from the get-go. Every girl wanted a piece of him and every guy wanted to be his best buddy. He couldn’t get enough of all the attention.”
As he basked in his hero status, Phelps knocked back beers and shots of spirits. And when a student offered him the glass bong engraved with red writing, he did not hesitate, says our source.
Well, whatever. A toke is no big deal and at least he's having some fun in his life after a lifetime of training. He's learned his lesson - to be more careful around camera phones in the future.
