Michael Phelps Tells Matt Lauer Bong Photo Was a Bad Mistake
NBC's Matt Lauer asked Michael Phelps in an interview if he had considered the implications of getting his photo taken with a bong and also how he felt when he saw the published photo. Phelps told Lauer that it was a bad mistake he made and that he hurt a lot of people including his family, friends and fans.
"It was an awful judgment. And, really, the people I hurt is my family, clearly, my friends, the close people around me and most importantly, the fans. And I realize that that hurt a lot of people," Phelps told Lauer in a revealing interview that will air Friday morning on TODAY and Sunday on NBC's "Dateline."
"When you first saw the picture, when you first laid eyes on it and realized what it was a picture of, did you calculate at that point the fallout?" Lauer asked. "Did you start to think how damaging this could be to you personally and your career?"
"It's not about money to me," Phelps replied. "The contract side of things, yeah, I was disappointed. But I think the biggest thing is who I hurt the most. Like, if I lost money, okay. It's not an issue with me."
Lauer asked Phelps directly, "Were you smoking pot?"
Phelps did not reply directly, instead saying, "It was a bad mistake. I mean, we all know what you and I are talking about. It's a stupid mistake. You know, bad judgment. And it's something that I have to, and I want to teach other people not to make that mistake."
Here's a clip from Matt Lauer's upcoming Today and Dateline interview with Michael Phelps. Phelps is back training again because he says he knows he can't do anything wrong once he is back in the pool.
NBC's Matt Lauer asked Michael Phelps in an interview if he had considered the implications of getting his photo taken with a bong and also how he felt when he saw the published photo. Phelps told Lauer that it was a bad mistake he made and that he hurt a lot of people including his family, friends and fans.
