Remember last night when I told you that a certain young man had smoked a little weed and it was met with some skepticism? Well, be skeptical no more, for Michael Phelps has apologized for his college kid behavior.

The apology is brought to us by Rueters by way of Yahoo!

“I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment,” Phelps, the winner of a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics last year, said in a statement after the News of the World published the photograph.

“I’m 23-years-old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that people have come to expect from me,” Phelps added.

“For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public – it will not happen again.”

I can’t help but feel sorry for the kid. He gave America the highlight of 2008, captivated people and and made them care about the Olympics and swimming in particular. Now he’s caught in the eye of storm that is our obsession with anything athletes and celebrities do. (Phelps = Page Views) I realize that’s the price to pay for the millions of dollars, stripper girlfriends and sweet gold medals, but the kid was just smoking weed.

Either way, Phelps has apologized for his heinous act. Not that he owed it to anyone besides his family, but it was what he had to do. Hopefully, this whole thing teaches him a lesson about who he can and can’t trust and to smoke act with a bit more discretion in the future.