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

[THUNDER HANDS]

Source: News Of The World



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.”

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

---

:eyes:

[LeftyMom]

1. Well, that explains his famously unhealthy diet.

:rofl:

[RedEmpress]

75. The munchies

Well-known side-effect of weed. More power to him. :-)

[Zhade]

2. Um, it's just pot. A PROVEN-BENEFICIAL HERB.

Get the fuck OVER it already.

[Unca Jim]

21. Beneficial or not...

smoking anything is still bad for you.

Anyway, I agree otherwise...who cares if he passes his tests when he need to?

[Bjorn Against]

24. Eating fatty foods is bad for you too, but we don't destroy people's careers for eating McDonald's.

I think it is disgusting that people would even think that this should destroy his career, he didn't do anything to harm anyone else and the harm to himself was a lot less than the harmful effects of drinking sugary soft drinks or eating fast food.

[TheEuclideanOne]

40. What planet are you from?

No offense, but regardless of whether you agree or disagree with smoking pot, you can't be shocked that people would expect his career would be harmed. He has a reputation of a clean living, healthy, Olympian and an American hero. He is caught doing drugs and you are shocked that people suggest it will harm his career? Really?

I think that what you meant to say was that it is shocking that a semi-harmless drug that hurts nobody else should hurt his career. Especially Pot. Still you don't see too many pictures on that Wheaties box of anybody with a bong in hand. Personally, I agree with you on the effects of pot vs sugary drinks and fast food. At the same time, even I know that this can't be good for his career.

[Bjorn Against]

43. I said exactly what you said I meant to say

Here are my words: "I think it is disgusting that people would even think that this should destroy his career."

Here are yours: "I think that what you meant to say was that it is shocking that a semi-harmless drug that hurts nobody else should hurt his career."

So how is what I said different than what you think I meant to say?

No offense but you should read my words before you attack because I never said what you wrote in your first paragraph, but I did say what you thought I meant to say.

[TheEuclideanOne]

54. You are 100% correct

Not only did I attack you, but my attack was unfounded. A thousand apologies. I guess I didn't read it carefully enough or just glanced it too quickly. In any case, my apologies. I guess I should put down the bong.

[Bjorn Against]

58. Thanks apology accepted, I have read things wrong before as well it happens.

[cosmicone]

93. What if pot's analgesic and stress reducing effects help his workout? A benefit that

is not available to other athletes. If you see it as an unfair advantage to Phelps as seen from a competitor's viewpoint, you'll see the fairness of banning Phelps.

[TheEuclideanOne]

96. Although it is a very interesting point, I doubt

that anybody could publicly make that argument in our society. Don't forget that drugs like marijuana are bad, bad, bad. Arguing that they actually have a benefit other than for enjoyment would never fly, regardless of how logical it might be. Personally, I am doubtful of it too because I could never imagine getting a good workout while being stoned. Also, if you are stoned, it would be impossible to complete a set of 10 bench presses. You could never count to 10.....1....2....3....4...5....(How many was that so far?)

Seriously, though, regarding a competitive advantage, one other potential unfair advantage is in maintaining a high calorie intake. I am sure that in his case you will hear alot of jokes about it. I actually laughed when reading one of the first posts here about how we now know how he ate so much food. If you are required to maintain a high calorie intake, it actually becomes a chore to eat, believe it or not. Back in the day when I went to a gym (today I am a slug) and worked out alot, I was trying to build up muscle and that meant eating alot more than I was used to eating. Believe me it is no small task to do it for an extended period of time. As an athlete, I am sure that it is much worse. If I was smoking pot at the time, it would have made the job of eating alot easier that's for sure.

[Zhade]

122. For fuck's sake, STOP with the bullshit stereotypes.

Pot doesn't make you stupid. It doesn't make you unable to count to ten.

The only way that happens is if you smoke a ton of indica at once, and that wears off.

I'm sick of the stereotypes, because they're not true. Millions of people use pot regularly and hold down good jobs and live full lives.

[TheEuclideanOne]

128. If you say so

I was going to comment on your post, but can't remember what it is at the moment. Note to self: Keep away from bong when posting on DU. Oh well, off to work.

[daggahead]

148. Amen Zhade! n/t

[krabigirl]

153. Marijuana is bad, bad, bad? Really? Why do you think so?

Oh, that's right, because they told you it was. LOL. And yeah, you can work out while high. Exercise is not that difficult.

[TheEuclideanOne]

174. Actually I don't really think it is.

It is a gateway drug,though. I have, in fact, moved on to cocaine since the beginning of this thread. The stronger the drug, the more that Zhade makes sense :) Just kidding, Zhade, you make very good points and apparently have alot of experience in this area and feel pretty passionate about the topic. I have actually learned a few things from you. For one, I can now tell people that I am very health concious.

[Zhade]

181. HAHAHAHA!! Oh my, that was a funny post.

: )

[Zhade]

121. Not true. Marijuana smoke is a bronchial dilator -- it used to be prescribed to asthmatics.

Not all smoke is the same.

[Dr.Phool]

23. I don't see any smoke in that bong.

He probably thought it was an oxygen mask.

[Bacchus39]

74. a snorkel?? n/t

s

[Why Syzygy]

104. I think

it's a vaporizer. No smoke.

[Lance_Boyle]

137. that is a bong, not a vaporizer. n/t

[salguine]

39. "Proven beneficial"? You've been smoking too much of it yourself. Yes, I fully

agree that the War On Drugs is an atrocity. Pot isn't the demon drug conservatives make it out to be, I fully admit that.

But implying that it's "good for you"—"Beneficial"—or that it's without any downside is equally ridiculous. No one with any sense would ever assert that sucking smoke into your lungs is "beneficial" in and of itself.

Yes, I know it can be successfully used to treat symptoms of glaucoma and cancer patients.

But if you don't have either of those, you're probably better off not smoking it in the long run. It tears up your lungs and gradually makes you stupid.

[Bjorn Against]

51. Carl Sagan smoked pot, did it gradually make him stupid?

Sagan was probably second only to Einstein among the great scientific minds of the past century and he was a pot smoker, I don't think you could argue that pot made him stupid.

[salguine]

63. There are exceptions. I've seen a TON of weed-stupid people, and so have you.

[Bjorn Against]

65. Yeah I have, but I have seen even more non-weed smoking stupid people.

Stupidity comes in a lot of different ways, but there is absolutely no evidence that pot dumbs people down permanently. It may dumb them down when they are stoned, but it does not gradually make people dumb.

[Missy Vixen]

69. Really?

>It may dumb them down when they are stoned, but it does not gradually make people dumb.

My favorite was the guy who belonged to the same social group we did; he was "treating his ADD" with "herb". His emotional and mental development evidently ended when he started smoking, and yeah, he wasn't exactly the sharpest pencil in the pack to begin with.

Maybe his whole problem is that he never really sobered up, huh?

[DUlover2909]

76. That's a tested theory.

People mature naturally from the anxiety that comes from feeling and experiencing life's heartaches. Whe people are perpetually numbed to these events by the introduction of artificial chemicals then they do not mature as usual. There's some scientific stuff out there somewhere about it but I don't have the inclination to look it up right now.

[NashVegas]

103. Self-Medicating

Children growing up in homes where emotional skills are in short supply tend to end up doing that, in my observations.

[Missy Vixen]

114. DUlover, nice to meet you

When I was younger, I had a close friend that entered NA at 16. He told me that one's emotional age is "stuck" at the age one starts using.

It's not medically proven, but I do know that those I've met who are daily users do not seem to mature emotionally.

Of course, this is IMHO.

[DUlover2909]

134. I have seen anecdotal evidence myself. I am included in that group.

I smoked weed all the time during college and for about 15 years after. I can see by my own experience that I was a real idiot for a long time. I am so happy that I no longer have to score a new bag when I am low. Buying weed is a pain in the ass. All the waiting by the phone and making trips around town and having to spend time with the dealer playing playstation games or listening to music was an enormous waste of time. If pot were legalized I imagine that the time expenditure would diminish tremendously. I must say though, that for me, when I was smoking weed I still wasted alot of precious time just being stoned. I believe pot should be legalized. I only think so because tobacco and alcohol are legal and they are worse for you that pot. Neither is a good thing to do with your life. I say let people do what they want in terms of drugs. If they were all legal then they would be alot cheaper and the real addicts would just OD. Eventually they would be weeded out of the gene pool.

[Lost4words]

147. maybe he just didnt like you around!

[EndersDame]

162. Drunks are a stupider lot for sure eom

[snooper2]

143. I've seen more non-weed stupid people......

You should have seen the stupid beeyatch in a beat up Exploder this morning :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[DUlover2909]

72. Maybe he would have been even smarter without pot.

Maybe he just had so much extra intellectual capaicty that the THC didn't seem to affect him. Or maybe the pot made him smarter. There is no way to tell.

[dnbn]

83. You are confusing Carl Sagan with Richard Feynman.

Sagan, while very admirable, was nowhere near second to Einstein and I never heard of his pot smoking. Feynman, who was one of the greatest physicists of the 20th century, did admit to experimenting with marijuana.

[Frank Cannon]

89. Carl Sagan was a marijuana enthusiast

It has been well documented. Make no mistake about it, Dr. Sagan loved to toke.

And I agree with you about his place in scientific history. But he was a brilliant writer and teacher of science. He was probably the best ever.

[Zhade]

124. Educate yourself. Sagan himself stated he smoked pot.

NT!

[LeftyMom]

180. Jesus, did you ever listen to him?

You have to be pretty frequently baked to sound that mellow.

[EndersDame]

165. As did Shakespeare, Baudalaire, Dumas

and a bunch of other really cool authors http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:LE3b1W3EL6YJ:www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1943.html+british+authors+hashish+club&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a

[ronnie624]

87. Marijuana Cuts Lung Cancer Tumor Growth In Half, Study Shows

<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070417193338.htm>

[ronnie624]

88. Marijuana takes on colon cancer

<http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14451-marijuana-takes-on-colon-cancer.html>

[mike_c]

111. others have been all over you for the ignorance of your statement...

...but let me add my $0.02. I'm an academic scientist. I'm in my mid-fifties. I've smoked pot, with varying regularity, since I was fifteen years old. I'm not stupid, and my lungs are in fine shape. I expect to be smoking dank, sticky Humboldt County pot well into my emeritus years.

[Zhade]

123. My doctors found that it not only keeps me from developing glaucoma, but MADE MY EYES BETTER.

In fact, my eyeglass prescription was LOWERED because of the documented evidence that it improved my eyes. Also, as noted elsewhere, marijuana smoke is a bronchial dilator -- which HELPS, not hinders, breathing.

And it doesn't make you stupid. Only people who don't know the first thing about the difference between indica and sativa strains would make such a laughable comment.

I'll trust my doctors, and the medical science backing up the fact that it's a beneficial herb, over your misinformed opinion ANY day.

Quite simply, you're wrong.

[Lost4words]

146. Do you have proof of the gradually makes you stupid part?

should we com pair long term alcohol use vs long term pot use?

9on edit)it may effect spelling however!

[krabigirl]

154. It also helps anxiety and depression, so yeah, it IS beneficial.

I'd rather smoke or eat it than take an SSRI, thank you.

[Zhade]

168. I found that to be true as well. Used to take meds, hated the side effects.

NT!

[WheelWalker]

45. Vitamin M. n/t

[CreekDog]

56. If you eat it

i'm not against pot though.

[RBInMaine]

94. Over 400 chemicals in it. INHALING ANY SMOKE INTO YOUR BODY IS UNHEALTHY. GROW UP !

[Zhade]

125. I'll trust my doctors over your ignorance, thanks.

NT!

[Political Heretic]

177. Well your doctors probably don't say that inhaling smoke is good for you....

...they probably say that the positive benefits of pot outweigh the negative effects of smoke inhalation...

[Zhade]

182. They actually aren't concerned about the smoke. At all.

NT!

[roody]

178. Don't smoke it---Vaporize it.

[Lost4words]

185. Hell, have you had your air analyzed lately?!

the pollution dimson has allowed make the poisons inhaled burning pot look like clean air! IMO!

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. Oh no! He's considered a god.

[madrchsod]

4. oh no !! he can smoke pot and still win 8 gold medals!

of course he did`t smoke pot during his training but you know pot is really, really bad with long term effects.

one of them is winning gold medals


:smoke:

[WheelWalker]

80. Now I am ZEROUSY impressed with his lungs.

[BrklynLiberal]

5. Doesn't look like Phelps to me....

[THUNDER HANDS]

10. this is him with facial hair

[sasquuatch55]

101. That's what I thought. Doesn't look like him.

nt

[DeepBlueC]

6. big deal

I don't expect a lifetime of pharmaceutical chastity from anyone. I think the results of drug tests are the accepted standard and if he passes those he is okay with me.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. Other news organizations are picking up the story.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/ny-spphellps0201,0,563218.story

[montanacowboy]

8. LOL!

maybe there will be a little bong in every Wheaties Box!!!

haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[blue neen]

9. It doesn't look like Phelps,

and it doesn't prove he inhaled!

[Jefferson23]

11. Is that really him? I hope for his sake it is not.

[NOW tense]

12. I thought he got caught

smoking once before. Plus who cares.
Oh no! he will be a calmer person!

[salguine]

41. No, it was a DUI in 2004.

[marmar]

13. Sane marijuana laws would render this story moot.....

:smoke: Peace and love. Amsterdam Forever!!!!

[Mz Pip]

14. Pot is hardly a performance

enhancing drug.

Guess the moral of this story is that there are no private parties or unscripted moments allowed when everyone around you has a cell phone camera.

Phelps needs new friends.

[THUNDER HANDS]

15. you never know

if competitive eating ever makes the olympics he'd be set.

:D

[Mz Pip]

19. Seems like I remember a few years back

that an Olympic Snowboarding team tested positive for cannabis. I don't think they got booted.

This isn't like steriods. It doesn't increase your ability to perform better. If anything, it will slow you down because you might see something of interest on the way across the pool, like the ripples in the water.

[DeepBlueC]

26. It wasn't the whole team

It was Ross Rebagliati, a Canadian snowboarder. He won the gold, tested for pot, and was disqualified but he got his gold back after an investigation determined that pot is not a performance-enhancing drug i.e. was not on the list of banned substances.

[Mz Pip]

62. Thanks for the clarification

Is pot now on the list of banned substances? Seems silly since it doesn't do anything to increase one's performance. It's pretty far removed from anabolic steriods.

[Angleae]

64. Depends on the sport.

Some sports have it listed, some don't.

[DeepBlueC]

66. I think so

The judgment was that it is not a performance-enhancing drug. They had to rely on common sense because of the lack of an agreement between the IOC and the international sport federation. I am sure that this bureaucratic oversight has been remedied. :sarcasm:

[Ecumenist]

33. ROFLMBAO!! ....AND SMDH!! eom

[WheelWalker]

81. Actually, it is a bronchial dilator.

[TroglodyteScholar]

98. Link please?

I've never heard this before, and it has the opposite effect on me. Do you have a trustworthy source for this statement?

[WheelWalker]

115. Try this one...

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1429361

[TroglodyteScholar]

126. Interesting...

...but it's important to note that this article involves administration of aerosolized THC, not smoked cannabis. As a matter of fact, smoked cannabis gets the following mention in the Discussion section:

Smoking marihuana can cause bronchodilatation in asthmatic patients (Tashkin et al., 1974) and prevent experimentally- induced bronchospasm (Tashkin, Shapiro, Lee & Harper, 1975) but the dose is difficult to control, the smoke irritates the airways and long-term use can impair lung function (Henderson, Tennant & Guerry, 1972).

[WheelWalker]

132. Really, smoking is not the preferred route of administration. Me want COOKIE!!

[DeepBlueC]

108. that's why you see people coughing like crazy sometimes

no, I don't think so

[WheelWalker]

116. You might just notice

that the cough is more productive. See link above, and others.

[DeepBlueC]

119. it must be the other ingredients that trigger asthmatic bronchospasm

in me, at least, but it surely does.

[TroglodyteScholar]

127. The cough is more productve...

...because you're trying to expel what's left behind of a rather dense particulate solid.

I'm not anti-cannabis at all--I'm just skeptical whenever someone asserts or implies that smoking it is somehow beneficial to your health.

[Berry Cool]

16. Well, you know, if a British tabloid says it's true, it MUST be true.

They have SUCH a reputation for accuracy and non-sensationalized reporting, you know. :sarcasm:

[stillcool]

17. bummer...I didn't trust some of the..

people I partied with, but having people do you in like that must really suck.

[Karenina]

18. Oh dear...

[Bjorn Against]

20. Anyone who thinks this should get in the way of his career are the ones with a real problem.

So Phelps may have smoked pot, who the fuck cares? Phelps diet is a lot more dangerous to his body than pot is, alcohol is also far more dangerous but no one would be raising a stink if he was drinking. Pot smokers are not the problem, the problem is the people who think pot smokers should have their lives and careers destroyed over a toke from a bong. I am sick of all the people who freak out over shit like this when they have almost certainly done far worse things than take a hit from a bong themselves.

[BlooInBloo]

22. Not certain that's him....

But if it is, so what?

[ORDagnabbit]

25. Pot is a hell of a lot better for you then government sanctioned cigarrettes and alcohol

[pacalo]

27. First sentence is wrong.

It should read...

"This is the astonishing picture which could (by our hand) destroy the career of the greatest competitor in Olympic history."

The next sentence begins with, "In our exclusive photograph..."

[time_has_come]

28. This is quite obviously real. No question about it. And it's a big deal.

If it wasn't real then they wouldn't be naming and quoting a spokesman for Phelp's marketing agency.

And it's a big deal, regardless of how relatively harmless smoking pot is. It may make him ineligible to compete. It will also damage his reputation and make him unmarketable, which is something he would be concerned about.

[krabigirl]

157. You have to be kidding. They really did brainwash you well when young, didn't they?

[Occulus]

170. Actually, what the photo proves is that

smoking pot doesn't necessarily hinder you from anything.

That's why the uproar. He just proved to millions upon millions of people that smoking pot doesn't do one least littlest thing to your motivation, drive, sense of purpose, OR physical ability unless you let it happen.

That's why this is such a big to-do. The photo completely destroys the myths.

[TrogL]

29. There are other things smoked from bongs besides pot

Flavoured tobaccos are all the rage in the Middle East.

[jmowreader]

61. They're popular in the US too...

You probably remember the big deal here on DU when "Dr." Laura's kid Deryk bought into a hookah bar.

[HughBeaumont]

105. This isn't the middle east and he's not at a hookah bar.

That's America . . . at a college party in SC . . . and that's weed good ol' Mikey's huffin.

[DCKit]

30. Phelps looks like an ironing board from the side...

This guy is beefy.

[Alcibiades]

31. So long as he pissed clean, who cares?

The real story: Phelps becomes one of the greatest athletes in the history of sport, disproving the claim that pot is a terrible, harmful drug.

[Ecumenist]

32. SO? AND?

Who the crispy, crunchy friend fried bucket o'thighs cares? :shrug: As long as he wasn't driving, operating heavy equipment or no innocents were exposed to a contact high, I frankly don't care.

[time_has_come]

35. You not caring doesn't make it a non-issue.

He could become ineligible for 2012 and lose all his marketing value.

Lot's of people don't care about that either, I imagine, but lots of people do.

[Ecumenist]

47. The two things are really not related in my mind and it is simply

my opinion. The hypocrisy of the the world of marketing is just that. As I said, who the heezy, IN THE REAL WORLD, cares and what does it matter? BTW, I am a Christian AND GUESS What? I've never smoked weed but I see nothing wrong with it. Frankly, I find that tobacco is a lot more dangerous than cannabis and considering that the News of the World isn't exactly what I would characterise as the most credible source, it's most likely a moot point.
Welcome to DU. btw...

[time_has_come]

59. I have some understanding of the media and the law surrounding it

If this was not a true story there would be no quote from a spokesman for Phelp's marketing agency.

News of the World or not, it looks like a credible story to me.

And you're probably right...besides Phelp's and those around him the fact that his marketing value has fallen will matter little.

On the point of him becoming ineligible to compete in 2012 (if that is the case) many people in the real world of America probably do care. A lot of Americans take pride in his accomplishment, and will be greatly disappointed if he can't compete.

[Bjorn Against]

49. It is a big issue that our country would destroy a person's career over something so minor.

The issue is that insanity of our country's insane view of drugs, it is not Phelps who did anything wrong it is the people who try to destroy the lives of people who just want to enjoy themselves. Phelps did nothing to harm anyone else, but now there are all kinds of people who want to harm him. That is the real issue, the allegations that he smoked pot should not be an issue with any reasonable person. Unfortunately there are a lot of unreasonable people out there who have no problem destroying people's careers so they can proclaim how moral they are.

[alcibiades_mystery]

82. Lots of people care about his marketing value?

Why?

[time_has_come]

84. Lots of people would care about him being ineligible for 2012.

[alcibiades_mystery]

107. That's true, I guess

But it's only one of the two claims you made.

[TheWebHead]

34. it's him

During his time off, he gained weight... Here's a photo of Phelps w/ the same watch:



Not like I care if he was or wasn't, but it's too bad because many other will care and it will hurt him financially and perhaps with a 2012 Olympic bid.

[Hugabear]

36. If only he had gotten himself into a drunken stupor and engaged in a group orgy

Tabloids would have still put that on their front page, but the story would have disappeared within a few days. No, because this one involves the EVILS OF REEFER MADNESS, they have to try and destroy this young man's career.

[HughBeaumont]

106. Alcohol and orgies aren't illegal.

Both can do more damage to you than a single bong hit can (STDs) but the fact remains that it's illegal and that's why a giant deal's being made.

Decriminalize recreational drugs and control them, and this would be an afterthought.

Something tells me all the PSA's he's going to have to give as a result of this isn't going to stop him from doing it again and again anyway . . .

[Titonwan]

37. Pot is NOT a performance enhancing drug

so they should leave him the hell alone. What a sad world when you can be torn down by partying a little. I think Mr. Phelps ought to jump on the N.O.R.M.L. bandwagon and get this shit straightened out. Pot's better than tobacco any day. FAR better than booze.

[bluestateguy]

38. Looks like he's blowing bubbles to me

I didn't see nothing.

[change_notfinetuning]

42. Weedies - Breakfast of Champions n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

44. lol

[paparush]

151. LMAO! Weedies...ROFLMA!

[complain jane]

184. LOL!

[Renew Deal]

46. That doesn't really look like him.

But who knows.

[byronius]

48. That's tobacco. I can smell it from here.

[DeepBlueC]

67. lol

[Autonomy]

50. If had been allowed to smoke weed during the Olympics

he would have gotten 20 gold medals. Therein lies the true injustice.

[msongs]

52. perhaps he wishes to be free of the TYRANNY of competitive swimming and

wishes to lead a real life now that he has his reward for being poster boy for US Swimming and the USA in general. He's earned it all
and deserves to retire.

if it is him at all actually

Msongs

[TygrBright]

53. OMG! Anyone would think he was a... a... TEENAGER!! n/t

[Chovexani]

159. INORITE

What about the chillllllllldren?!

(who are also smoking weed)

[Politicalboi]

55. It could be tobacco

But the Dell dude lost his contract when he was exposed for smokin the bud. Phelps makes more money from sponsors and this doesn't help.

[nolabels]

73. ...... or even opium!

Why is everybody so down on bong pipes anyway :shrug:

[roody]

179. or peyote.

[bhikkhu]

57. Yawn...

"teenager goes to party". I can't say its even news from a "fallen role model" perspective. The media needs to grow up, and people should help it. This story is just a stupid sideshow.

[KamaAina]

60. Um, let me see if I've got this straight. My Bawlmer homie might be stuck at a lousy 14 gold medals?

Of all the lousy, rotten, lowdown things they could do to a guy...

...oh, screw it, pass the :smoke: ...

[deepplaya]

68. Jail the useless voyeur that took the photo!

So what....
What I would be interested in knowing is how many kids at that
party were on Antidepressants? 
or 
How about Mr Phelps's grades? 
Is he doing well enough in class to compete in sports?

[IADEMO2004]

149. 2nd that!! useless squealer wannabe

Only do bud with buds, never with losers with cameras

[bertman]

70. Seems the best we could hope for is this doesn't hurt Michael's career or his swimming

and it helps ease some of the hysteria about the weed.



B-)

[Tafiti]

71. All I have to say is...

FUCK the guy or gal who took this photo and sold it to News of the World. That's enough bad karma to last a lifetime. Hope it comes back on that asshole tenfold.

[Endangered Specie]

77. Dumbass...

yeah yeah, but shouldn't be illegal, but it IS and getting caught with it when you are expected to be drug free makes you an idiot.

[SKKY]

78. I don't see anything that would identify him as Phelps 100%...

...could be anyone.

[WheelWalker]

79. I don't see any otpa, either.

[SKKY]

131. Well now. Recent events have certainly change things a bit for Mr. Phelps.

Oooops!

[JeanGrey]

136. I understand he had severe ADHD and swimming has

basically saved him. I was concerned after he won all the metals and told my husband "if he falls in the adoring, give you anything hanger on crowd, he could be in trouble". We have a son who is the same and while Michael is a fantastic athlete, ADHD as we all know causes judgment problems, social problems and the like. Add to that people throwing themselves at him and it adds up to trouble. I'm sorry to see this and I hope he gets someone like a minder to keep an eye on him.

[uppityperson]

85. "The glass pipes are generally used to smoke cannabis". GENERALLY

[w4rma]

86. One can smoke tobacco from bongs, also. Btw, when is pot going to be made legal?

Majorities in America support legalizing pot. It's a waste of money, especially in the a depression. And it might cost America a whole lot of Gold Medals at the next Olympics, in addition to being caught with the stuff (not using the stuff, however) having a possibility of ruining your life forever.

[leapinggnome]

90. I have to say this...

Consider the source of this picture and article. These are the same kind fo folks who claim that Bill Clinton fathered an alien, that Elvis is alive and living with Marilyn Monroe or that there's a creature known as Bat Boy.

It looks like a hack job to me. And News of the World is a rag.

[JVS]

91. AWESOME!

[Divine Discontent]

92. Rec all ya want, It's not him - doesn't look like him or his ear (check out the photo in the thread)

[BobRossi]

95. Respiratory therapy.

It's a proven fact that huffing bongs makes the lungs stronger. ><

[Vinca]

97. Michael, Michael, Michael, you stupid, young boy.

Remember the endorsement millions you used to have?

[Why Syzygy]

99. Priorities! Duuuude!

Don't need no stinking gold. Oh. THAT GOLD!

[JeanGrey]

100. What an idiot. Why is it when people achieve great success

they rush headlong to destroy it? He's young, but it looks like he is probably finished. What a shame.

[krabigirl]

155. finished? for smoking pot? You can't be serious.

[JeanGrey]

164. It depends on how his sponsors who have paid him a great

deal of money view it. Yes it could destroy a career. I hope not.

[Why Syzygy]

102. oops

.

[LostinVA]

109. Unless he has a hot urine test, tehre is NO PROOF THAT IS POT

Even if we all know it actually is. Tobacco can be smoked in water pipes, which is why you can legally buy them (just like rolling papers).

I will say he's an idiot for smoking ANYTHING if he still wants to swim at an elite level, and for smoking in front of people he doesn't know and trust 100%.

Stupid all around -- pot needs to eb decriminalized, anyway.

[mike_c]

110. oh for pete's sake....

Aren't there any IMPORTANT stories for the press to focus on? Sheesh.

[tomg]

112. When I swam in college in

the very late 60s we were all pretty stoned for some of the meets. Of course, we were a D3 team and we mediocre at best. From my own experience of swimmers, and it is only my own anecdotal stuff, swimmers tended to be stoners.

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

113. watch the press be all over this

and rush did much much worse regarding drugs and was given a pass, to the point of illegal activities were forgiven.

[RamboLiberal]

117. Photo of Michael Phelps smoking pot? He says it's him

TAMPA, Fla. -- Olympic great Michael Phelps has acknowledged "regrettable" behavior and "bad judgment" after a photo in a British newspaper showed him smoking marijuana.

News of the World, a British tabloid, posted a picture with an accompanying story today that the publication says shows the 14-time Olympic gold medalist taking a hit from a bong at a college party at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. The article's headline: WHAT A DOPE.

The article said that the photo was taken last November during a visit by Phelps to the campus to visit a girl he had been seeing. It also said that Phelps, described as "loud" and "obnoxious" by students, spent much of his time there partying.

The story also said the Phelps' representatives "went into a panic over our story and offered us a raft of extraordinary incentives not to run the bong picture."

In a statement released to The Associated Press, the swimmer who won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Games conceded the authenticity of the exclusive picture.

Phelps said: "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."

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/02/michael-phelps-admits-regrettable-behavior.html

[catnhatnh]

118. The statement of guilt was a mistake...

...because he need not have made ANY statement and the paper would have had a hell of a time testing a photograph for THC...

"I was kidding around and posing with the pipe."

"I love the smooth flavor of Borkum Riff."

"They told me it was an herbal treatment"

Let's see the paper prove any of the above was false given only a photo...

[ozu]

120. I bet Roor is pretty happy

with the unintentional endorsement of their hardware.

:)

[NuttyFluffers]

129. let the young man be. he did great, let him enjoy the down time.

such a non-issue. :eyes:

[silverojo]

130. Not when he's a role model for kids

It's definitely an issue.

And I suppose you didn't think it was an issue when he got picked up for DUI 4-5 years ago, either?

[Bluebear]

133. Well, that's a typical leap.

[treestar]

139. Nobody asks to be a "role model"

How many people in this countty have tried pot? and will whether this guy does or not?

[tinrobot]

144. He never claimed to be a role model for kids.

He trained, he swam, he won. That's all he did.

[krabigirl]

156. And who would be a good role model for kids?

Generals who send people to slaughter in wars?

[Chovexani]

160. PRO TIP

Those kids are also smoking weed.

Right now.

:smoke:

[krabigirl]

166. lol, good one

[EndersDame]

163. I think the DUI is a huge issue and the only issue

what is a little pot smoking (as long as he had a ride home)compared to endangering people

[Zhade]

169. Kids shouldn't smoke... until they're 18.

"role model" - he's a better role model for ignoring a bullshit law against a beneficial plant than you are for calling him a bad role model for using it!

[Occulus]

171. He just proved to millions of kids that pot doesn't make you into an unmotivated loser.

Is THAT what you're angry about?

He won eight gold medals. AND he smokes weed.

I can't think of a worse moment for the anti-pot types. He just destroyed ever last pot myth there ever was.

[wiley]

135. So what?

You people are shoddy drama queens. He didn't get caught. Someone took a picture. Wonder who that ahole was? A parasite?

[treestar]

138. Oh for crying out loud

If he swims the fastest, he gets the medal. This isn't steroids.

Geez, do people have nothing better to do?

[Romulox]

140. A pot smoker? And yet he can still dive? But the War on Drugs people told me that pot ruins you...

[THUNDER HANDS]

142. he better hope

the pool has water in it, wouldn't want to end up like that chick in the 80s anti drug PSA.

[LeftishBrit]

141. Firstly, News of the World is probably THE most unreliable British scandal-sheet ..

against lots of competition! It's probably a fairly close equivalent of the 'National Enquirer', but even less intellectual! We call it the News of the Screws.

Secondly, with all the unhealthy things people do in life, I can never understand how worked up some people get about cannabis.

[tinrobot]

145. Big f***ing deal.

He tested clean at the Olympics, what he does afterwards is his own business.

[marshall]

150. That looks like one of those penis enlargers

While he's 'fessing up he might as well spill it all.

[krabigirl]

152. Lol. Proof that pot is harmless. Give me a break with the false hysteria.

[Chovexani]

158. OH NOEZ

NOT THE DEVIL WEED!



Seriously, what a bullshit non story. Shit it just makes me like him more.

[kiranon]

161. There is a naivete about him. Anyone else think he was set up and

did not realize he would be photographed? He doesn't seem quite typical to me and perhaps is not that socially adept? Wondering.

[krabigirl]

167. He should have chosen a joint. I don't think he realized how freaked everyone would be.

At least then they'd just think it may be a cigarette, especially since he was in Englan where many roll their own cigs anyway.

[superconnected]

172. Dumb. If it where the average person I would say so what, but since he's

an olympic champion that is very press worthy, my opinion is dumb, very dumb.

Congratulations on imploding your career mr. phelps. I don't think your family or coach deserves this.

[superconnected]

173. Hey, that doesn't actually look like a bong, are you guys sure it isn't 1. that tea stuff

people were taking by bong - I'll try to think of the weird name for that health craze people have been doing the last few years, or 2. that that's not some sort of breath test he's breathing into?

[Life Long Dem]

175. There are other things on peoples minds than this

[Political Heretic]

176. Why would this destroy his career? The PRESIDENT OF THE US did drugs.

How's his career goin?

[BrightKnight]

183. He is very young and hasn't had a chance to grow through that phase yet.

Most people go through a little of that during their freshman year of college and quickly grow out of it. He has clearly been too focused until now. This is probably about the first time he has had the chance to come up for air and he has some growing to do.

It does not change anything that he has accomplished and I don't see him becoming a drunk or a stoner.

Smoking a little pot when you are young is not a big deal. I have better things to do but it is not really a big deal period.