Olympic gold medal winner Michael Phelps caught with cannabis pipe

[Masa]

14-times Olympic gold medal winner Michael Phelps caught with cannabis pipe



By Georgina Dickinson, 01/02/2009

THIS is the astonishing picture which could destroy the career of the greatest competitor in Olympic history.

In our exclusive photo Michael Phelps, who won a record EIGHT gold medals for swimming at the Beijing games last summer, draws from a bong. The glass pipes are generally used to smoke cannabis. And after sporting chiefs announced laws which mean four-year bans for drug-taking, Phelps’ dreams of adding to his overall 14 gold medal tally at the 2012 games in London could already be OVER. Those dreams seemed the last thing on his mind when he puffed from the bong during two days of partying with students last November, a quiet time in the swimming calendar when athletes would not expect to get tested for drugs.

One party-goer who witnessed the star’s behaviour told the News of the World: “He was out of control from the moment he got there. “If he continues to party like that I’d be amazed if he ever won any more medals again.” Phelps’ aides went into a panic over our story and offered us a raft of extraordinary incentives not to run the bong picture. It was on November 6, weeks after his Beijing triumph, that 23-year-old Phelps surprised students at the University Of South Carolina in Columbia by showing up unannounced at a house party. He was visiting Jordan Matthews, a girl he was secretly seeing who was a student there.

Our source revealed: “Michael came to visit Jordan but ended up just getting wasted every night. “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. The 6ft 4ins athlete, in a white T-shirt and navy cap worn back to front, clasped the device in his huge hands and inhaled deeply.

Our source said: “You could tell Michael had smoked before. He grabbed the bong and a lighter and knew exactly what to do. “He looked just as natural with a bong in his hands as he does swimming in the pool. He was the gold medal winner of bong hits. Michael ended up getting a little paranoid, though, because before too long he looked like he was nervous and ran out of the place.”  But the next night, Phelps was out partying again. The source added: “He was right back at it at Pavlov’s bar. “Like the night before he was holding court, throwing back shots two at a time and pouring drinks to every cute girl.”

Drink has got Phelps into trouble before. In 2004, aged 19, he got 18 months probation for driving while under the influence. His wild behaviour is in stark contrast to the grim regime which took him to the top of his sport. He once described his life, saying: “All you do is eat, sleep, swim; eat, sleep, swim; eat, sleep, swim.” Last night Phelps’ management team and the sporting world closed ranks over the scandal.

The US Olympics Committee, who have pledged to clamp down on drug use, refused to comment, as did USA Swimming and Phelps’ coach Bob Bowman. More surprising still was the World Anti-Doping Agency’s refusal to comment, given that they introduced the four-year ban on sport’s drug users. Phelps, who earned £4million last year in endorsements, has resumed training for the 2012 games. But there were fears about his commitment when, weeks after the bong incident, he began dating former stripper Caroline Pal.

Phelps is represented by marketing giant Octagon, which works with huge brands such as Mastercard and HSBC. They admitted proven cannabis use would be “a major taint” on Phelps’ character. Spokesman Clifford Bloxham offered us an extraordinary deal not to publish our story, saying Phelps would become our columnist for three years, host events and get his sponsors to advertise with us. In return, he asked that we kill Phelps’ bong picture. Bloxham said: “It’s seeing if something potentially very negative for Michael could turn into something very positive for the News of the World.”

He stressed that the swimmer had taken 1,500 drug tests and never failed one. Until now?

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/150832/14-times-Olympic-gold-medal-winner-Michael-Phelps-caught-with-bong-cannabis-pipe.html

[~Dan~]

I doubt cannabis is a performance-enhancing drug.  If anything, it'd make his performance worse because he'd be chilled out and "Ahhh, who cares about some damn race, I want me some fudge brownies!"

[JTRIX]

PWNed LOSER!!!


Sorry I gonna say this because everyone keeps saying "Athlete = healthy image" but "Athlete = drug addicts" for me

[Guchi_Jnr]

Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps has admitted to engaging in "regrettable" behaviour and "demonstrated bad judgment" after a photo was published that appeared to show him smoking cannabis.

A British newspaper, the News of the World, published the photo allegedly showing the multiple Olympic gold medal-winner inhaling from a glass pipe which is generally used to smoke the drug.

"I engaged in behaviour which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," Phelps said in a statement.
"I'm 23 years old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that 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 newspaper said the picture was taken on November 6, almost three months after Phelps won an historic eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, when he went to a party at the University of South Carolina.

It claimed he was visiting Jordan Matthews, a girl he was secretly dating who was a student at the university, and threw himself into a series of parties in houses and bars.
The photograph shows Phelps, wearing a white t-shirt and a baseball cap back to front, holding the pipe - known as a bong - to his lips and apparently inhaling.
Phelps was recently named the US Olympic Committee Sportsman of the Year for making Olympic history in Beijing by collecting the most golds won by any athlete at a single Olympics, giving him a career total of 14 golds.

He also set seven world records in Beijing.

And after sporting chiefs announced laws which mean four-year bans for drug-taking, Phelps’ dreams of adding to his overall 14 gold medal tally at the 2012 games in London could already be OVER

Americans have been pretty good at bending the rules in the past, so I'm sure this won't effect 2012. 

[StreakInTheSky]

He's a dumb ass, that looks like any other stoner white boy on an American college campus. Just deny it...

If Miley Cirus could get away with it, so can he.

[THUNDERDUCK]

Marijuana isn't a performing enhancing drug, and is not something the IOC will look for.  It is a controlled substance though, but not under their abilities to do anything about it.  Anyway, he wasn't smoking during the Olympics.

[kuno_thunder]

Marijuana isn't a performing enhancing drug, and is not something the IOC will look for.  It is a controlled substance though, but not under their abilities to do anything about it.  Anyway, he wasn't smoking during the Olympics.

Werd, a Canadian proved that a few years back.  From the wikipedia:

"Ross Rebagliati (born July 14, 1971 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) is a Canadian professional snowboarder. He turned pro in 1991. He was the first ever to win an Olympic gold medal for this sport at the 1998 Winter Olympics. After winning the gold, he was found to have marijuana in his circulatory system and he was automatically disqualified. This decision was eventually overturned, largely on the basis that marijuana is not a performance-enhancing drug, and Rebagliati was given back the medal."

[meowchi]

lol, i'm not surprised at all- by the way he talked and composed himself, i knew he wasn't very bright to begin with, and not a good role model. the guy is an olympic athlete sponsoring FROSTED FLAKES & RICE CRISPIE TREATS. so much for a healthy lifestyle eh phelps?

[arun.yothin]

^What has he done/said? I've never seen much of him, I'm just curious.

[Mugen]

he will be fine

[accnamex]

i love phelps more then i did b4 Purple Kush FTW  he'll smoke anybody in the water even if hes high

[daigong]

LOL now some Carolina cops wanna charge him. The way he can stay underwater so long, hate to take the next hit after him in the bong circle!

[Reanimation]

Michael Phelps suspended for 3 months. also Kelloggs cereal will not renew his sponsor with them
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/swimming/news/story?id=3887608

[Saburo]

Multiple sources peg this guy as a five-star douchebag.  Good.  For.  Him.

One week of shame, a three-month "suspension" and then we'll forget about competitive swimming again for a few years.