"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 hundreds of thousands of USA Swimming member kids who look up to him as a role model and a hero," the federation said in a statement.

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"Michael has voluntarily accepted this reprimand and has committed to earn back our trust." Phelps won a record eight gold medals in Beijing and returned to America as one of the world's most acclaimed athletes.

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Now he's enduring a wave of bad news in the wake of the photo, published on Sunday by the British tabloid News of the World. Earlier Thursday, cereal and snack maker Kellogg Co. announced it wouldn't renew its sponsorship contract with Phelps, saying his behavior was "not consistent with the image of Kellogg."

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The swimmer appeared on the company's cereal boxes after his Olympic triumph. "Michael's been through a lot and he's learned a lot, hopefully," his coach, Bob Bowman, told The Associated Press during a telephone interview.

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"I support him and I want to see him do better. I'm here, as always, to try to help him move forward. He's learned some tough lessons and he's disappointed a lot of people, me included."