BRUSSELS (AP) - IOC president Jacques Rogge says Michael Phelps deserves a second chance after being photographed with a marijuana pipe in South Carolina.
Rogge says the American swimmer should receive the benefit of the doubt after his apology and promise not to repeat his mistake.
Phelps won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics. He was suspended by the U.S. swimming federation for three months after a British newspaper published the photo of Phelps holding the pipe at a party when he visited the University of South Carolina.
Rogge says Phelps was not guilty of a doping offense because the incident occurred outside competition but warns "this is not something he should repeat."
Speaking Friday at the opening of an IOC liaison office with the European Union, Rogge said: "I tend to believe he will not do it."
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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