Michael Phelps tread carefully around Matt Lauer asking point-blank asking if he smoked marijuana at a South Carolina party where he was photographed holding a bong.
"It was a bad mistake. I mean, we all know what, you know, what you and I are talking about. It's a stupid mistake. You know, bad judgment. And it's something that, you know, I have to, and I want to teach other people not to make that mistake," Phelps said during the Today show Friday.
Lauer was quick to roll tape of a similar apology Phelps made on Today in 2004 after the DUI incident.
"I'll be the first one to admit I've made a lot of mistakes in my life in the pool and out of the pool," Phelps said. "But I have never made the same mistake again. I never made the same mistake twice."
They are, after all, two totally different things.
Watch the video after the jump to see Phelps' first interview since Ganja Gate:
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Michael Phelps lost a big endorsement deal and suffered a three-month suspension from competition because of a photo of him smoking a bong — but the 14-time Olympic gold medalist won't face any drug charges.
A South Carolina sheriff said Monday there wasn't enough physical evidence to bring charges against Phelps, according to The Associated Press. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said holding a bong is not a crime, and Phelps never admitted using it.
"He never said, 'I smoked marijuana.' He never confessed that," Lott said.
Phelps said he is now focused on getting back in the water...
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The price of marijuana keeps going up for Michael Phelps: USA Swimming has suspended him for three months, and Kellogg is dropping him as a sponsor over his pipe-smoking photo.
"This is not a situation where any anti-doping rule was violated, but we decided to send a strong message to Michael because he disappointed so many people, particularly the ...
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Michael Phelps is under criminal investigation because of the photo of him smoking a marijuana pipe.
South Carolina's Richland County Sheriff's Dept. is trying to determine whether the swimmer broke the law by ...
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Michael Phelps apologized for "regrettable" behavior and "bad judgment" after a photo of him smoking a marijuana pipe surfaced in British tabloid News of the World.
"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," Phelps said in a statement. "I'm 23 years old and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted ...
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