Lochte said in the statement that he wants to apologise for his behaviour last weekend.
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Interestingly, the statement also describes a slightly different version of events than the apology Lochte had issued hours earlier by way of his personal Instagram.
“I waited to share these thoughts until it was confirmed that the legal situation was addressed and it was clear that my team-mates would be arriving home safely”.
American Olympic swimmers Gunnar Bentz, front, and Jack Conger leave a police station in the Leblon neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016.
United States gold medalist swimmer Ryan Lochte on Friday apologised for his behaviour at the Olympics after being accused by Brazilian police of inventing a story about an armed robbery to cover for some bad behavior at a gas station. The security police pulled a gun on the swimmers to ensure they wouldn’t leave the scene, authorities said.
Star swimmer Ryan Lochte apologized Friday for giving a misleading account of being held at gunpoint in Rio, saying he “should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself”.
Lochte, 32, has said he plans to take an extended break after the Rio Games and relocate to Los Angeles.
On Thursday, Brazilian Chief of Civil Police Fernando Veloso stated that Lochte’s story had been proven false. Later on, Jimmy Feigen also agreed to pay almost $11,000 to a Brazilian charity as part of a settlement with a Rio judge. The Olympic swimmer made his way back to the USA on Friday after being held in Brazil to testify.
If anyone has benefited from the elaborate story U.S. Olympic swimmers fabricated about being robbed in Rio de Janeiro this week, it’s the Reaction Institute, a Brazilian charity that provides exercise opportunities to teach young people social responsibility. Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz had their passports released and were allowed to leave Brazil after being questioned by investigators. A security guard appeared and confronted them, the official said.
Ryan Lochte has issued an apology [see full apology below] for “not being more careful and candid” in his recounting of a weekend incident in which he claims to have been robbed at gunpoint in Rio early Sunday morning. Lochte, too, was ordered to stay behind in Brazil, but had left the country and returned to the US before getting that official word.
A warrant revealed that Lochte gave a different story from one of his teammates in a deposition, where he said he was robbed of $400 by one armed robber.
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Lochte relayed several details to NBC’s “Today” the morning after the incident that he later backtracked from.
