Phelps Admits Mistakes In First TV Interview Since Bong Photo

Phelps Feels Bong Photo, DUI Arrest In '04 Are Not The Same Mistakes

NBC's "Today" Friday morning aired an exclusive taped interview with U.S. Gold Medal-winning swimmer Michael Phelps. Phelps and NBC's Matt Lauer sat poolside and discussed the ramifications of his now "infamous marijuana photo" that cost him endorsements and tarnished his reputation. The interview, his first television interview since the photo became public, was taped Thursday in Phelps' hometown of Baltimore and contained the following excerpts.

Lauer: When you first laid eyes on it and realized what it was a picture of, did you start to think how damaging this could be to you personally and your career?

Phelps: The contract side of things, yeah, I was disappointed. But I think the biggest thing is who I hurt the most.

Lauer: Did it cross your mind even for a second or longer where you thought, "That image of me on the cover of (SI) with all those eight Gold Medals around my neck is now going to be the second thing people think about. This image of me is what’s going to be in all the papers for the foreseeable future."

Phelps: I have no control over that.

Lauer: I have to ask you: were you smoking pot?

Phelps: It was a bad mistake. We all know what you and I are talking about. It was a stupid mistake, bad judgment.

Lauer: How do you look at your fans now and say, "I said it the first time (following Phelps' November '04 DUI arrest), I’m saying it again, but this time I really mean it."

Phelps: I’ll be the first one to admit I made a lot of mistakes in my life, both in the pool and out of the pool. I’ve never made the same mistake twice.

Lauer: So you don’t consider these two things to be the same mistake?

Phelps: In my eyes, no. They’re both stupid and immature mistakes.

Lauer: We live in a time right now where it seems we almost brace ourselves for heroes to disappoint us. ... Are you aware of that and has that put this in any perspective for you?

Phelps: I’ve come to realize people want to bring you up, but more people want to bring you down and that’s how our public is. It’s definitely something to keep in mind and keep close at heart ("Today," NBC, 3/13).

BLAME THE HANDLERS? In Ft. Lauderdale, Mike Berardino writes Phelps "rarely holds forth on topics beyond swimming and product endorsements," and there is a "single-minded focus that can be quite chilling." Former U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz "seems to hold Phelps' handlers more accountable for his missteps than" Phelps himself. Spitz: "It's funny, because with all of the questions people ask me, nobody ever says, 'So, what do you think his handlers were thinking?' That might be the question to ask" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 3/13).