The United Kingdom's News of the World has published what they claim is a photo of Michael Phelps smoking pot from a bong.
The paper reports that "It was on November 6, weeks after his Beijing triumph, that 23-year-old Phelps surprised students at the University Of South Carolina in Columbia by showing up unannounced at a house party" where this photo was taken
"Phelps’ aides went into a panic over our story and offered us (the News of the World) a raft of extraordinary incentives not to run the bong picture"
The paper goes on to report that:
"The US Olympics Committee, who have pledged to clamp down on drug use, refused to comment, as did USA Swimming and Phelps’ coach Bob Bowman.
More surprising still was the World Anti-Doping Agency’s refusal to comment, given that they introduced the four-year ban on sport’s drug users."
If this photos proves to be real, it could mean serious trouble for the golden boy of swimming who has earned millions of dollars from lucrative sponsorships since winning an historic eight gold medals in Beijing.
In 2004 Phelps was in trouble with the law when he received a 18 month probation for driving under the influence.
You can read the entire story HERE.