Guess all that needed fitness for past gold medals isn’t so important when the next Olympics is four years away, huh? How else can we explain 14-time gold medalist Michael Phelps toking hard on a bong right in the pages of of the London daily NEWS OF THE WORLD.
The photo leaves little to the imagination. Evidently Phelps likes his ganja, and he likes it in large quantities. He also must not have had any competitions planned for the next, oh, six weeks after this hit, because there was no way he’s passing a drug test before then.
“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.”
The photo was reportedly taken in November, which means he could be clean by now. But there are plenty of quotes from reported party-goers that lead one to believe there’s no way he is.
Naturally, we have to take all the quotes from the story with a grain of salt. After all, this is the NEWS OF THE WORLD. Even Brits try to hide it underneath groceries or a candy bar when they pick it up.
That being said, here’s the assessment of one party-goer who caught Phelps in the act:
“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.”
Well, that might be a bit harsh. Still, there’s no doubting that he’s held on to his obnoxious(lack of) charm.
“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.”
Some things just never change, do they. So much for the golden boy image. Let’s just hope he doesn’t get to host SNL again.
Well, evidently the marketing company who works to find Phelps his endorsements, Octagon, was worried about just that phenomenon. According to NEWS OF THE WORLD, a spokesman for the company, Clifford Bloxham, reportedly offered a preposterous three-year deal to keep the picture out of the paper: Phelps as a NEWS OF THE WORLD columnist for three years, hosting events over that stretch and ushering advertising to the paper from his endorses.
Obviously, it didn’t work. Which allowed NOTW to use this terrific snarky closing line:
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?
*UPDATE*: Phelps admits to the ASSOCIATED PRESS that’s him the photo, and offers this apology:
“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.”
7:09 pm on January 31st, 2009
classic
7:18 pm on January 31st, 2009
thats stupid, weed will be out of your system in 4 weeks, and for a high performance athlete like him, probably 2-3 weeks
9:11 pm on January 31st, 2009
Wow….a 20 something taking a hit of pot. Outrageous!
He must be a really horrible person, and is obviously a sociopath and drug addict.
11:11 pm on January 31st, 2009
That is so clearly NOT Phelps. Look at his chin fat and flabby biceps. Total fake job.
10:56 am on February 1st, 2009
FAKE!
2:23 pm on February 1st, 2009
What kind of jerk takes a picture of someone using a bong. The real crime is the narc behind the camera.
3:18 pm on February 1st, 2009
You all seem so positive that is Phelps. Wow, you folks will beleive anything you see on the internet. Everyone loves a scandal, even if there is no proof.
3:46 pm on February 1st, 2009
No Proof:
Phelps just admitted to the Associated Press that it was him in the photo.
9:35 pm on February 1st, 2009
This is totally unacceptable behavior. Not once do they show him sharing the bong. This is an outrage.
11:41 pm on February 1st, 2009
Apparently, not knowing how to hang up a phone isn;t his only problem.
2:35 pm on February 2nd, 2009
This shouldn't hurt Michael's Cheetos endorsements.
1:52 pm on February 3rd, 2009
Leave him alone - judge yourselfs - pass it to the left
9:28 pm on February 3rd, 2009
u guys r pussys there aint shit wrong with smokn pot tell u the truth i dont even think it was his first time it shows all the dumbasses out there that if he could do it and how many gold medals we all could smoke it n be fine n the only reason pot is bad is cause the government makes dab so TOKE that SHIT
3:23 am on February 4th, 2009
'What A Dope!' –the banner says.
"What a complete shitrag of journalism." –I say.
Hilarious when people talk about pot like it's accepted that it's bad. HA! It's accepted that it's not a big deal, moron!
To some of the commenters:
@SB: That's not chin fat. That's normal human skin. Only a handful of women and children don't have a fold of skin you can see from that angle when they are taking a bong hit. Also, there is something wrong with a person if they would have raging biceps when they are relaxed with their arms at their sides. Pffft. The guy in the picture has a huge chest and neck. Looks like Phelps.
@Anonymous: You're right except even 4 weeks is probably way too long for an athlete. If a person doesn't smoke every day it can be gone almost immediately, especially if they happen to be training.