Michael Phelps was caught by News of the World smoking dope at a party in USC three months after his Olympic glory.
"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," Phelps said in the statement released by one of his agents. "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."
This isn't the first embarrassing episode for Phelps after an Olympic triumph. In 2004, a few months removed from winning six gold and two bronze medals in Athens, the swimmer was arrested on a drunken driving charge at age 19. He pleaded guilty and apologized for the mistake.
Considering the trend, If Phelps competes in London, what's next? Soliciting prostitution? Gun running?
One fan at ESPN cracked (pun intended), "Holy crap! He is human!"
The incident certainly bring up that age-old debate about athletes being role models. Whatever your side, after 14 Gold Medals, there are expectations by the public rightly or wrongly. But keep in mind that athletes or celebrities are apologetic only when they are caught and endorsement deals are suddenly in jeopardy. Kinda tough when they could lose the whole pot. But sometimes, these things happen so we can weed out the good grass from the bad grass.
"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," Phelps said in the statement released by one of his agents. "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."
This isn't the first embarrassing episode for Phelps after an Olympic triumph. In 2004, a few months removed from winning six gold and two bronze medals in Athens, the swimmer was arrested on a drunken driving charge at age 19. He pleaded guilty and apologized for the mistake.
Considering the trend, If Phelps competes in London, what's next? Soliciting prostitution? Gun running?
One fan at ESPN cracked (pun intended), "Holy crap! He is human!"
The incident certainly bring up that age-old debate about athletes being role models. Whatever your side, after 14 Gold Medals, there are expectations by the public rightly or wrongly. But keep in mind that athletes or celebrities are apologetic only when they are caught and endorsement deals are suddenly in jeopardy. Kinda tough when they could lose the whole pot. But sometimes, these things happen so we can weed out the good grass from the bad grass.
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