Ryan Lochte apologized for his conduct last weekend in Rio de Janeiro that precipitated an worldwide scandal involving an alleged robbery and some imbecilic drunken behavior on the part of the 32-year-old gold medalist and three other USA Olympic swimmers.
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A night that began at Club France on August 14 ended with an alleged armed robbery, according to Lochte and his teammates-Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, and Jimmy Feigen.
Feigen was among four United States swimmers who Lochte said had been robbed at gunpoint by men posing as police officers at a gas station in Rio de Janeiro, a story that police maintain is false.
The US Olympic Committee last night apologized for the behavior of Lochte and his colleagues after the video showed some of their behavior at the station, and confirmed the four swimmers had stopped at the station to use the bathroom, where one of them committed an act of vandalism.
In his apology today, Lochte called the experience “traumatic”.
Civil Police Chief Fernando Veloso told AP that the athletes paid 100 Brazilian reals, or about $33, and $20 in US money to leave the gas station that night. “I am very proud to represent my country in Olympic competition and this was a situation that could and should have been avoided”.
“There has already been too much said and too many valuable resources dedicated to what happened last weekend”, he wrote.
Umm dude, you blamed armed men whom you said dressed as police officers and held you up at gun point (essentially saying Rio was filled with unsafe and unsavory characters) – when in fact you and your friends were just jackasses and then liars.
Lochte said in a lengthy post on Instagram that he was apologizing for his role in taking the focus away from other Olympic athletes.
Police said Lochte and the others had vandalized a gas station bathroom while intoxicated. At one point, a security guard pulled a firearm after one swimmer behaved erratically, Veloso said, adding that the guard had not over-reacted: “From the moment the gun was pulled out, they calmed down”.
US Olympian Jimmy Feigen is expected to donate $11,000 to a Brazilian charity in order to settle a dispute over allegations that he and his team-mates fabricated a story about being robbed at gunpoint during the Rio Games.
The three were accused of lying to the police over the matter that infuriated Games organisers and the people of Brazil as they’ve accused the Americans of sullying the country’s reputation.
USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky said Wednesday night that “Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz were removed from their flight to the United States by Brazilian authorities”.
Lochte earlier said the men were robbed at gunpoint.
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After continuous public claims that Lochte had been a victim of an armed robbery during a night out with his fellow U.S. Olympic swimming teammates, the gold medalist issued a lengthy statement on Friday regarding the unfolding Olympic scandal.
