OUR FANHOUSE TOOLBAR INTEGRATES THE LATEST SPORTS NEWS INTO YOUR WEB BROWSER AND INSTALLS IN SECONDS.
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE TOOLBAR HERE.

Back Porch

Michael Phelps Admits Smoking Weed Picture Was Indeed Him


On Saturday, a report from News of the World published an alleged picture of Michael Phelps holding a bong (above) and smoking weed (or, "marijuana") and immediately made waves across the internet. Admittedly, the picture wasn't perfect and there was no guarantee that it was Phelps in the photo.

Until Phelps admitted Sunday that it was him holding the bong.




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 published Sunday by the tabloid News of the World.

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."
The nice thing is that -- unlike many steroid abusers -- Phelps has simply admitted that he got caught, even if it was a few months after the fact. That, in my mind, goes a fairly long way towards helping Phelps rehab a clearly damaged image.

Some folks have stated that the media's making too big a deal out of this; yet I don't think it can be overstated just how much Phelps might have cost himself in terms of endorsement money over the past few months.

Related Articles

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 73)

WHAT IS
BACK PORCH?

The easy answer:
Back Porch exists because FanHouse doesn't have a basement for its bloggers. The bigger picture? BP covers sports news that's funny, off-beat and controversial. In short, it's the other side of sports, covered with an edge. Enjoy.