USA swimmer Ryan Lochte has broken his silence, issuing an apology on Friday (Aug 19) for claiming he was robbed at gunpoint last Sunday in Rio De Janeiro after a night of partying. The fourth swimmer, Jimmy Feigen, made a deal with a judge to make a $10,800 payment and be allowed to leave the country later Friday, his lawyer said.
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Rapid developments early Friday came hours after police announced that Lochte and three of his teammates had not been held at gunpoint, as Lochte claimed. Authorities in Rio should be investigating the two security guards who pulled weapons on the US swimmers and demanded payment for damage to a bathroom door handle, he said.
“No robbery was committed against these athletes”, Fernando Veloso, chief of the Rio de Janeiro police investigative division, said at a press conference Thursday.
The disciplinary commission for Lochte, Jimmy Feigen, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger will “investigate and hear all sides”, International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said Friday evening.
Of the four, Lochte was the first to leave the country, thus eluding an attempt by police to seize his and Feigen’s passports earlier this week.
While Lochte had already left Rio before police sought him, Bentz and Conger weren’t so fortunate.
Police arrived Wednesday morning at the Olympic Village to take the swimmers’ passports and gather further testimony from them about the reported robbery, Sandusky said earlier. “They did not lie”.
The lawyer for the fourth United States of America swimmer, James Feigen, said the athlete would make a $10,800 “donation” and leave Brazil later in the day.
“Whether you call it a robbery or extortion or paying just for the damages, we don’t know”, Lochte told Lauer. He also gave an interview to Brazil’s main broadcaster Globo on Saturday to apologize for his actions.
He said he’d waited until his teammates had returned to the U.S. before speaking publicly about the incident again, adding that he took “full responsibility” for what happened.
“I am grateful for my USA Swimming teammates and the USOC, and appreciate all of the efforts of the IOC, the Rio ’16 Host Committee, and the people of Brazil who welcomed us to Rio and worked so hard to make sure that these Olympic Games provided a lifetime of great new memories”, the statement concluded. Conger said, according to the police account.
“Both guards pointed their guns at us and yelled at us to sit on a nearby sidewalk”, Bentz said. “We wanted to get out of there as quick as possible and the only way we knew, is this guy was saying to give him money”.
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“I want to offer a honest apology to the United States Olympic Committee, USA Swimming, the extraordinary women and men of Team USA, and the University of Georgia”.
