Michael Phelps attempted to puchase the photo of him smoking marijuana from a bong at a party at the University of South Carolina last November before it hit the pages of a British tabloid last weekend.
According to MSNBC's The Scoop, the 14-time medal-winning Olympian tried tirelessly to reach a deal with the UK's
News of the World in a bid to keep the damaging photo off the front page.
"There was an effort to purchase it,