That’s the lesson that Billy Bush, Roker’s co-anchor for NBC’s 2016 Summer Olympics coverage, learned when he tried to defend USA swimmer Ryan Lochte’s fabrication of a robbery in Rio de Janeiro as a simple “embellishment”.
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He did not elaborate on exactly what the punishment would be, but made no effort to hide his frustration.
Lochte alleged a week ago that he and three other Olympic swimmers – Jimmy Feigen, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz – were robbed Sunday at gunpoint by people claiming to be police officers.
“You told me on the phone, Ryan, you said, ‘We are victims here, ‘” Lauer begins in the preview clip that aired Saturday night on NBC Nightly News. After reviewing security footage, Rio police said the swimmers had not been held up but rather had vandalized a gas station bathroom and offered money to pay for the damages. “Or us paying just for the damages”, Lochte said.
In a previous statement, Lochte has apologized for his behavior in a statement and said that he was traumatized by being out in a foreign country with a language barrier and having a stranger point a gun at him and demand money. “They let down Americans”, Blackmun said.
The International Olympic Committee has established a disciplinary commission to investigate the incident, according to the Associated Press.
When asked by Lauer how it felt to watch news coverage of his teammates removed from their flight by Brazilian police while he was in the U.S., Lochte stressed just how apologetic he was.
No longer sporting his white hair, Lochte tries to explain why his original story about what happened at a gas station in Rio was so different from what actually happened without saying the words “I’m a liar”. “They’re my teammates and I wanted to be there”. He said he didn’t know why he “fabricated that part”, but repeated that he was intoxicated and a gun was pointed at him. He was the member of the group who damaged the property and argued with armed men who were security guards.
On Monday morning, Today played some of Matt Lauer’s sit-down interview with Lochte about the incident.
Lochte, 32, landed in hot water last week after telling a fantastic tale in which he and his fellow swimmers were pulled over in Rio by armed robbers posing as police.
‘I think we ended up in the right place in terms of being able to shine a light on what really happened there’.
“I was immature, and I made a stupid mistake”, Ryan said.
Scott Blackmun says Ryan Lochte and his team-mates will face “further action” following their false robbery claims.
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There are differences between Lochte’s apology and Brock Turner’s.
