RICHLAND SHERIFF COULD CHARGE PHELPS

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott says he will charge Michael Phelps
with a crime if he determines the Olympics hero smoked marijuana in
Richland County.Phelps, who set a record with eight gold medals in the
2008 Summer Olympics, was photographed smoking a marijuana pipe at a
November party in Columbia.The picture was published in the British
newspaper News of the World. Phelps apologized Sunday, calling his
behavior "inappropriate."

"This case is no different than any other case," Lott said Monday.
"This one might be a lot easier since we have photographs of someone
using drugs and a partial confession. It's a relatively easy case once
we can determine where the crime occurred." Possession of marijuana is
a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail or a $570 fine,
plus court costs.

But Lott seems to be the only person talking about making a case
against Phelps. Both the USC and Columbia Police Departments said they
would not pursue charges.

It was unclear Monday where the party took place, including whether it
was on campus. Meanwhile, on Monday, Phelps' sponsors - from apparel
company Speedo to luxury Swiss watchmaker Omega - issued statements
calling the incident a "nonissue." The International Olympic Committee
accepted his apology. "We have no reason to doubt his sincerity and
his commitment to continue to act as a role model," the IOC said in a
statement.

At the University of South Carolina, where Phelps was visiting when
the picture was taken, the mood was largely "who cares?" "It's not a
surprise," said India Jones, a sophomore biology major. "He's young,
and he is human. They'll probably let him off easy because he owned up
to it." Lots of public figures have admitted to smoking marijuana -
including President Barack Obama.

Rapper Lil Wayne, who professes his love for marijuana and other
substances in his music, has a leading eight Grammy nominations this
year. Phelps said he listened to Wayne's graphic song "I'm Me" to pump
him up for races at the Olympics. When Phelps hosted "Saturday Night
Live" on Sept. 13, Lil Wayne was the musical guest.

This isn't the first time Phelps has been in trouble following a gold
medal performance. In 2004, fresh off his wins in the Athens Olympics,
he pleaded guilty to drunken driving in Maryland.

Forgiveness of Phelps could be attributed to how he handled both
situations - admitting up front he did it and apologizing, said Matt
Brown, associate professor for sport and entertainment management at
the University of South Carolina.

"America is a forgiving society, and he came out and apologized
immediately," Brown said. "I think as long as we don't see more
pictures coming out and more things coming out that he's been doing
this consistently, he'll be OK." It also helps that many see Phelps as
a nice guy. When he was in Columbia, he took time to speak to a class
on sports' role in society. "It was amazing how gracious and how
humble and just how helpful he tried to be," said Sid Kenyon, a USC
adjunct professor who taught the class. "I can't tell you how
impressed I was with his mannerism and just how willing he was to help
and do anything that we asked him." The Phelps story broke not in a
sports magazine, but in a celebrity newspaper. Sports and
entertainment journalism have been merging for years, Brown said,
never more so than in the Olympics, which attracts a wider audience -
including the kind of people who watch celebrity news on
"Entertainment Tonight." "It becomes much more of an entertainment
event than a sports event," he said.

The Associated Press and staff writers Otis Taylor and Johnny
Dickerson contributed.