Let's forget for just one second that the Super Bowl is today and try to refer back to last year's Olympics. Remember, Phelps the swimmer, the eight gold medals in one Olympics guy, the guy who landed over $40 million in endorsements, that Michael Phelps? Well, it seems that little Mikey is in some big trouble. As reported by The News of the World fellow party goers snapped a photo of Phelps taking a hit from an engraved bong last November, weeks after his Olympics victories, during a streak of parties at The University of South Carolina in Columbia. One source revealed: "You could tell Michael had smoked before. He grabbed the bong and a lighter and knew exactly what to do... Michael ended up getting a little paranoid, though, because before too long he looked like he was nervous and ran out of the place."
Here's the bigger problem. The US Olympics Committee announced laws which specifically banned athletes from taking drugs of any sort within the four years prior to competition. Phelps took a hit (or maybe several, but really, who's counting) in November of 2008 and the London Olympics are in 2012. You do the math.
The Committee, Phelps' coach Bob Bowman, and the World Anit-Doping Agency, all refused to comment on the incident. The News of the World was even offered by spokesperson Clifford Bloxham, a three year commitment from Phelps to write, host events, and to advertise with the British paper if that meant the picture would not be published. Well, the smoking gun is smoking, no pun intended.
The questions remain. Will advertisers pull a Kobe and remove him from their campaigns? Will Phelps be able to participate in the 2012 games? Will the public forgive him for this incident as they did with the DUI and dating ex-stripper Caroline Pal? Will the swimming world be able to afford to give up Michael Phelps as its star? Best of luck to you, Mr. Phelps!
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