Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

We May Never Know Who Took the Pot Pic

Many people could have taken bong photo

By Katherine Thompson,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 9, 2009 12:12 PM CST

(Newser) – Plenty of people partied with Michael Phelps in South Carolina around the time he smoked marijuana, but the abundance of witnesses doesn't mean we'll ever know who took the picture that got the Olympian into trouble. Some fellow partiers saw iPhones out, but no one's even sure which night the photo is from, the State reports in reconstructing the events.

Revelers saw Phelps lay down big bets on games of beer pong, losing up to $2,000 at a time. One student says she saw a woman taking a picture of Phelps smoking from a water bong. Her USC classmate reports that he, too, snapped Phelps, but said his photo couldn't have made its way to the tabloids, since he lost his phone.

Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, left, answers questions from reporters as his trainer Bob Bowman, right, looks on at the Meadowbrook Aquatic Center, Friday, Feb. 6, 2009, in Baltimore.
Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, left, answers questions from reporters as his trainer Bob Bowman, right, looks on at the Meadowbrook Aquatic Center, Friday, Feb. 6, 2009, in Baltimore.   (AP Photo/Gail Burton)
Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps walks toward reporters to answer questions before training at the Meadowbrook Aquatic Center, Friday, Feb. 6, 2009, in Baltimore.
Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps walks toward reporters to answer questions before training at the Meadowbrook Aquatic Center, Friday, Feb. 6, 2009, in Baltimore.   (AP Photo/Gail Burton)
Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps pauses as he answers questions from reporters before training at the Meadowbrook Aquatic Center, Friday, Feb. 6, 2009, in Baltimore.
Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps pauses as he answers questions from reporters before training at the Meadowbrook Aquatic Center, Friday, Feb. 6, 2009, in Baltimore.   (AP Photo/Gail Burton)
Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps leaves the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009, in Baltimore.
Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps leaves the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009, in Baltimore.   (AP Photo/Rob Carr)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 3 comments
Timinator2K
Feb 9, 2009 9:40 PM CST
Phelps is a chump. Until the day he can legally do commercials or, Public Service Announcements like, "Hi kids, I'm 8 Gold Medal Olympic Swimming Champion Michael Phelps and I do drugs and SO SHOULD YOU!" Then STFU! about him being persecuted for doing what we "all" do with marijuana. He signed on for BIG BUCKS as a No-Drugs, clean-cut role model and he didn't live up to it, end of story.
Guest
Feb 9, 2009 4:45 AM CST
Exactly
Guest
Feb 9, 2009 3:30 AM CST
Does anyone else see a flaw in the "lost his phone" theory?
 

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Timelines   |   POPSUGAR Tech   |   Business Insider   |   HuffPost Entertainment   |   NewsOne