Phelps Cops to Smoking Pot

Swimmer hides from cameras, tints windows

(NEWSER) - It’s understandable that Michael Phelps is a little camera-shy after the fallout from his bong portrait. But he’s started “hiding out at strip clubs” to avoid having his picture taken, the New York Post reports. The Olympic champ has also tinted the windows of his Baltimore home in a bid for privacy from the paparazzi. More»

(NEWSER) - Michael Phelps’ suspension ended today, and the swimmer is back in the pool preparing for a tourney next week in Charlotte, the AP reports. The Olympian said he was actually unaware of the end of the 3-month ban, imposed after photos emerged of him hitting a bong. “I had no idea,” he said. But he’s happy to be competing again, for the first time since his stunning success at the Beijing Olympics. More»

(NEWSER) - In his first post-bong-photo interview, Michael Phelps says he has a sure-fire way to stay out of trouble—get back to the "normal routine" of the swimming pool. In the interview—it airs tomorrow on NBC's Today show, notes Entertainment Tonight—Matt Lauer asks Phelps if he's worried the bong photo would supplant his image as a champion. "I have no control over that," says Phelps. The only thing he can control is getting back to the pool, "where my home is," and where "I know I can't do anything wrong." More»

SC sheriff probed swimmer's marijuana use but found no evidence, he says

(NEWSER) - South Carolina officials won't charge Michael Phelps for smoking that bong after all, The State reports. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said today he'd investigated Phelps' marijuana use at a November party, but came up short on evidence—even though Phelps had admitted to doing it. Legal analysts said Phelps would walk because he wasn't caught in the act and no witnesses had emerged. More»

Eight partygoers have been arrested; Phelps not among them

(NEWSER) - The bong case grows. Eight people in Columbia, SC, have been arrested on drug charges stemming from the infamous frat party that Michael Phelps attended, WIS-TV reports. Those eight do not include Phelps himself, but they do include the bong's owner, who reportedly tried to sell it on eBay for $100,000. The piece of memorabilia is now in police custody. More»