Michael Phelps won’t be smoking marijuana ever again. That’s what the Olympic swimmer, who smashed records when he won eight Olympic golds at the Games in Beijing last summer, bringing his total to 14, said to fans this weekend after British tabloid News of the World published a picture of him smoking pot. 

The newspaper didn’t say he was actually smoking marijuana, but pointed out that that’s typically the purpose of the pipe. Michael Phelps acknowledged "regrettable" behavior and "bad judgment" in a statement to the AP, adding: "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." The picture was taken in November, well after the Olympics.

The U.S. Olympic Team weighed in, saying it was "disappointed." The ironic part, however, is that Phelps was part of a group of athletes who were to take part in a pilot program designed to increase the accuracy of doping tests. Now, his role could be at risk. Phelps was arrested in Maryland in 2004 on charges of driving under the influence.

Olympic teammate and super mother Dara Torres said Phelps’s move "in no way, shape or form diminishes anything he’s done."

Let’s hope Phelps stays out of trouble from now until the 2012 Olympics!

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