Early on Tuesday morning in Baltimore, Michael Phelps was arrested on suspicion of Driving Under the Influence in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.
In response to a request for whether USA Swimming would be conducting any investigation, the organization released the following statement:
“The news regarding Michael Phelps and his actions are disappointing and unquestionably serious. We expect our athletes to conduct themselves responsibly in and out of the pool.”
USA Swimming did not respond to the specific question as to whether the organization planned its own investigation into the arrest, and as of posting had not responded to a specific follow-up question as to whether USA Swimming was planning any punishment in the matter and if so, at which point in the legal process USA Swimming might consider such action.
This afternoon, Phelps acknowledged the arrest and apologized on his Twitter account.
No judgement here. Going forward, I live a mile from Michael and if he ever needs a ride home I would be happy to get him there safely.
He should be banned for one year . I really think this would be the only thing , besides jail that that would hit home, Not being vindictive in this but he does have a problem in that he is like the old gorilla who was Lord of the Mountain & he is being challenged. Now he is wounded & the Pretenders are stalking. This has affected his previous mental stability & he has gone troppo.
This mornings headlines could easily have been ‘ Michael Phelps Dead! ‘
The easiest way out would be to retire gracefully acknowledging he needs a new path in life. Thank everyone & get on top of that ADHD/alcohol problem.
Wow, we have a shrink among us capable of making instant distance diagnoses. Who would have thought!
Luigi I agree with you and I really am a shrink. I sense a lot of anger and hatred in some of the comments. Interesting that those posters have never commented on this site before. As they say the sinners cast the first stone. Sure MP has some problems with judgement and impulse control and possibly substance abuse. Yes he made a huge error in judgement and is lucky he and no one else got hurt. And he isn’t 19 or 23 anymore almost 30 so should know better. But there are many middle age and older man and woman who never learn. Regardless anyone can speculate what the state of Maryland and USA swimming will do but we should… Read more »
Do National Team members have a code of conduct that is more stringent than general USA Swimming members? Seems like if they’re representing the USA internationally, and yes, role models to many for achieving the highest level success in their sport, in a place where younger fans seem them as rock stars…beside USADA and WADA…are there any behavioral expectations these athletes are officially expected to have higher standards? Shouldn’t ban him from participating, but remove anyone from the National Team or any leadership position in response to criminal behavior.
I sure hope they are held to a higher standard. This isn’t just any USA Swimming member, this is Michael Phelps. He absolutely should be suspended.
I disagree. Everybody should be treated equally – including Michael Phelps. USA Swimming has a history of discriminatory practices which is unfair. Michael Phelps should not be held to higher standards – the standards should be the same for all involved in USA Swimming.
Fair enough. I think any USA Swimming member convicted of their second DUI offense should be suspended.
on the july 4 weekend of 1976, my father was one of 3 survivors of a 3-car crash involving 8 people. an elderly couple was hit by another car driven by 3 teenagers who had been drinking, getting stoned. the car the elderly couple was in then careened head-on into the car my father was in. my father, in the front passenger seat, went through the windshield, suffered all types of injuries. for the next 9 years, until his death in 1985, bits of glass would still find their way out from his head. the driver of my father’s car, went through the steering wheel, having to be cut out by fire/rescue. and the backseat passenger smashed into the back… Read more »
I would suspend him for 6 months. That’s right I said it. If USA Swimming is serious about keeping a good name after the scandals of the past, then this should result in a fairly serious sanction. God bless Michael Phelps, and I hope and pray he’ll find what he needs, but people need to understand that certain kinds of behavior simply won’t be tolerated when you represent Team USA. That’s my view anyway.
He got suspended by USA swimming for three months in 09 for the bong picture despite no charges being filed in any court for that incident. Regardless of the legalities it is likely there will some punishment by USA swimming too.
This is ridiculous. The country has a legal system that punishes offenders. Why on earth should US Swimming all of a sudden try to double up on the legal system. If Michael Phelps is locked up for 3 months, then he will not be able to train and compete for that period. If he is not, then he should be able to go about his business. This is for a judge to decide, not some unqualified administrator at US swimming, and thankfully not a bunch of commentators on this website.
^^^This 1000x
Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah – “We expect OUR athletes to conduct themselves responsibly in and out of the pool”. Once again, USA Swimming expects more from the athletes than they expect from their own employees, board members, LSC board members and Clubs. Just maybe if USA Swimming EXPECTED the same from the older generation, the younger generation would have some REAL GENUINE role models to look up to.
This could screw up his international travel… There are a number of countries – Canada being one and, I think, Australia might be another – where having a DWI / DUI conviction precludes you from crossing the border. It’s happened before.
For Canada, that rule only applies if you are driving across, not flying.
I think you can be turned back in either case; driving versus flying. It’s not common but given that he’s got two on his record and the infamous bong shot, it’s a real possibility. Crossing certain borders is going to go from “no sweat” to “significant hassle”.
Pretty sure the first DUI was actually expunged off his record, so the only thing that would show up would be this DUI because he was never convicted of a crime related to the marijuana incident and they cannot take into account a picture if he was never charged.