Lochte had originally said that he, Bentz, Jack Conger and James Feigen were robbed by men claiming to be police officers, and had guns pointed at them.
Advertisement
On Instagram he said: “I want to apologise for my behavior last weekend – for not being more careful and candid in how I described events of that early morning”.
CNN also reached out the US Olympic Committee, which referred to a statement issued Thursday night that said the organization will “further review the matter, and any potential consequences for the athletes, when we return to the United States”.
“And then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and he said, ‘Get down, ‘ and I put my hands up, I was like ‘whatever.’ He took our money, he took my wallet – he left my cellphone, he left my credentials”. But he said he and three fellow swimmers faced a “traumatic” situation that involved a language barrier and a stranger pointing a gun at them.
“Regardless of the behavior of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that am sorry”, Lochte said. Lochte claimed that he did not lie and that three minutes were missing from the released surveillance footage. No guns were drawn during this exchange.
The apology may bring the six-day mystery to a close in a case that quickly spiraled into an global matter involving consular officials, lawyers and judicial orders.
As Bentz and Conger flew home Thursday night, their attorney insisted they were witnesses only and had nothing to do with Lochte’s story.
A lawyer for Feigen said early Friday that the athlete planned to donate 35,000 Brazilian reals ($10,800) to an “institution” and leave the country later in the day.
A statement by the USOC confirmed claims by the Brazilian police that the four were not robbed, and the intoxicated athletes instead vandalised a petrol station toilet and were questioned by armed guards before they paid for the damage and left.
The story turned out not to be true and Lochte apologized earlier on Friday. “Once the security officials received money from the athletes, the athletes were allowed to leave”.
Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes said Friday he felt “pity and contempt” for the swimmers, saying he accepted the U.S. committee’s apology.
The swimmers will now have to face Olympic team leaders back home. “The apologies have been more than accepted”, he said.
Bentz told investigators that he saw Lochte giving an account of the night’s events to US media – Lochte spoke with NBC on Sunday afternoon.
The New York Post depicted Lochte on its front cover Friday under the words “Liar, liar, Speedo on fire” and above the headline “The Ugly American”.
It is the first time any of Lochte’s companions has spoken publicly of the 32-year-old’s role in the incident, and it contradicts Lochte, one of America’s most decorated swimmers, who told US television that he and his team mates were robbed at gunpoint.
On Thursday, Brazilian Chief of Civil Police Fernando Veloso stated that Lochte’s story had been proven false.
The investigation showed security guards stopped the athletes from leaving the station until police could be called.
While Bentz placed the blame on Lochte for instigating the trouble at the gas station early Sunday, he also supported a number of details in Lochte’s account. Veloso said the guards did not use excessive force and would have been justified in drawing their weapons because the athletes “were conducting themselves in a violent way”.
Two sources told CNN the exchange of money at the gas station was not a negotiation. Rio authorities believe that the four swimmers actually arrived at a gas station, where one of them proceeded to vandalize a bathroom.
Advertisement
Lochte, Bentz and Conger are already back in the United States.
