{"id":27631,"date":"2014-10-02T12:18:57","date_gmt":"2014-10-02T04:18:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=27631"},"modified":"2014-10-02T10:20:46","modified_gmt":"2014-10-02T02:20:46","slug":"olympic-champion-michael-phelps-apologizes-for-dui-arrest-says-he-takes-full-responsibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2014\/10\/02\/olympic-champion-michael-phelps-apologizes-for-dui-arrest-says-he-takes-full-responsibility\/","title":{"rendered":"Olympic champion Michael Phelps apologizes for DUI arrest, says he takes \u2018full responsibility\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Michael<\/a>
Michael Phelps. Linus Egger<\/a> \/ Flickr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Michael Phelps\u2019 comeback has been sidetracked by more trouble away from the pool.<\/p>\n

The Olympic champion was arrested for the second time on DUI charges early Tuesday in his hometown of Baltimore, another embarrassment for a swimmer who came out of retirement this year with his sights set on competing at the Rio Games.<\/p>\n

Phelps issued an apology that sounded very familiar to the ones he made after a drunken-driving arrest a decade ago, as well as when a British tabloid published a photograph in 2009 that showed him using a marijuana pipe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand the severity of my actions and take full responsibility,\u201d Phelps said in a statement. \u201cI know these words may not mean much right now but I am deeply sorry to everyone I have let down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maryland Transportation Authority police charged the 18-time gold medallist after officers said he was caught speeding and failed field sobriety tests.<\/p>\n

The arrest came about a month after the 29-year-old Phelps won three golds and two silvers at the Pan Pacific Championships in Australia, setting himself up to compete at next summer\u2019s\u00a0worldchampionships and at Rio in 2016.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s too early to say if Phelps might face sanctions from USA Swimming, which took no action after his 2004 arrest but suspended him from competition for three months over the pot picture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe\u00a0news\u00a0regarding Michael Phelps and his actions are disappointing and unquestionably serious,\u201d the national governing body said in a statement. \u201cWe expect our athletes to conduct themselves responsibly in and out of the pool.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S. Olympic Committee had a similar reaction. CEO Scott Blackmun said the organization was \u201csurprised\u201d by Phelps\u2019 arrest and \u201cdisappointed on a number of fronts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phelps was charged with driving under the influence, excessive speed and crossing double lane lines in the Fort McHenry Tunnel on Interstate 95 in Baltimore, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.<\/p>\n

If convicted on the DUI charge, he would face a maximum penalty of a year in jail, a $1,000 fine and the loss of his driver\u2019s license for six months. Under Maryland law, the latest case is not considered a second offence because his first DUI conviction occurred more than five years ago.<\/p>\n

Phelps could face the wrath of his sponsors, though there was no immediate word of any company planning to drop him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s too early to tell,\u201d said Don Rockwell, the CEO of Phelps\u2019 new swimsuit sponsor, California-based Aqua Sphere. \u201cFor the most part, we\u2019re supportive. We just need to wait and see what happens. This is not a deal-breaker for us, unless we find out something else that happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phelps also has deals with Subway, Under Armour, Omega and Master Spas.<\/p>\n

In early August, Phelps announced he was ending his long relationship with Speedo to sign the deal with Aqua Sphere. Just last week, according to Rockwell, company officials were in Baltimore working with Phelps on the sizing of his new suit, which he can begin wearing at meets starting Jan. 1.<\/p>\n

First, he must deal with a more serious issue.<\/p>\n

A Maryland Transportation Authority police officer was using radar about 1:40 a.m. when Phelps\u2019 white 2014 Land Rover came through the tunnel at 84 mph in a 45-mph zone, the agency said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The officer stopped Phelps just beyond the tunnel\u2019s toll plaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Phelps was identified as the driver by his driver\u2019s license and appeared to be under the influence,\u201d the statement said. \u201cHe was unable to perform satisfactorily a series of standard field sobriety tests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly Melhem, a spokesperson for the transportation agency, said department vehicles are equipped with in-car video recording devices. Officials were trying to determine if there was footage of Phelps\u2019 arrest, which could be used as evidence if the case goes to trial.<\/p>\n

The statement said Phelps was co-operative during his arrest. He was taken to an authority station and later released.<\/p>\n

After the London Olympics two years ago, Phelps followed through on his long-stated plan to retire, having won twice as many golds as anyone else and 22 medals overall.<\/p>\n

Phelps returned to competition in April and set his sights on competing at the Rio Games, which would be his fifth Olympics.<\/p>\n

His first DUI arrest came in 2004 on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Phelps received 18 months\u2019 probation, a $250 fine and was required to deliver a presentation on alcohol awareness to students at three high schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recognize the seriousness of this mistake,\u201d he said at the time. \u201cI\u2019ve learned from this mistake and will continue learning from this mistake for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phelps wasn\u2019t charged after the picture came to light of him using a marijuana pipe at a party in South Carolina. He did accept the suspension from USA Swimming for what he called \u201cbad judgment\u201d and \u201ca mistake I won\u2019t make again.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of his major sponsors, Kellogg Co., dropped him almost immediately. Subway stayed with him and remains one of his biggest backers.<\/p>\n

Phelps\u2019 comeback is going well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe accomplished everything we wanted to,\u201d he said after the Pan Pacs. \u201cWe were able to find out some of the things I need to improve on over the next year, and things I want to improve on.\u201d<\/p>\n

His biggest issue at the moment is outside the pool.<\/p>\n

Associated Press Writers Juliet Linderman and Amanda Kell in Baltimore contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michael Phelps\u2019 comeback has been sidetracked by more trouble away from the pool. The Olympic champion was arrested for the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":27632,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","mauthors-paul-newberry","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}