“Matt Lauer interviewed Ryan Lochte this morning”, Bell tweeted Saturday morning.
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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 USA television that he and his team mates were robbed at gunpoint.
Lauer was in contact with the Olympian during the scandal.
Lochte initially claimed that he, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen had been robbed by men posing as police officers at a gas station on their way back to the Olympic Village on Sunday, August 14. Still, according to Lauer’s recounting of the conversation, Lochte stood by the account of an armed robbery. “We were held, I mean, there was a gun pointed in our direction”. “We just wanted to get out of there”, Ryan said. “We were held”, Lochte said. “Whether you call it a robbery, whether you call it extortion, or us paying just for the damages, like, we don’t know”, Lochte responded.
“We were all frightened”, Lochte added. On Thursday, when asked during an MSNBC appearance whether he bought Lochte’s story, Bush said, “I buy the general flow of the story – some details and embellishments were made”. “None of this would have happened, and it was my immature behavior”. And we wanted to get out of there as quick as possible.
Lauer asked Lochte for an explanation and a reaction to chief’s declaration that they were “vandals” rather than “victims”.
An eyewitness to the incident, who acted as an interpreter between the swimmers and the gas station employees, has said the swimmers pleaded with the employees not to call the police and that a weapon was produced but never pointed at the athletes.
Feigen was allowed to leave the country after making a $11,000 donation to charity, and the International Olympic Committee will investigate the four swimmers.
The International Olympic Committee is now setting up a disciplinary commission to investigate Lochte and the three US swimmers he was with.
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“I let my team down”, Lochte said. “He left his teammates hanging while he skedaddled”. One teammate later admitted that they stopped at a gas station near Olympic Park and urinated on the side of a building; Lochte allegedly yanked a “framed metal advertisement” from a wall, in addition to reportedly causing damage to a nearby restroom.
