U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte apologized for his behavior in Brazil, following his disputed claim that he was robbed at gunpoint while on a night out with three teammates.
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Lochte said he had been forced to the ground in a Rio gas station and robbed with a gun to his head.
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.
As a result of the discrepancies, two of Lochte’s fellow swimmers were pulled from their flights back to the US for further questioning, and a third has agreed to pay about $11,000 to a Brazilian charity in exchange for permission to leave the country.
When Bentz and Conger were finally able to leave the country Thursday evening, people shouted at them, calling them “liars” and “shameful” as they walked out of the police station. The two American Olympic swimmers forced off a plane earlier this week are now back in the United States, and the third man will make a payment to an unnamed institution and be allowed to finally leave Brazil today.
Lochte, who is a 12 time gold medalist in swimming, and the other three Olympians could face fines or suspensions.
But Rio police said the story was fabricated. Rio authorities believe that the four swimmers actually arrived at a gas station, where one of them proceeded to vandalize a bathroom.
“There has already been too much said and too many valuable resources dedicated to what happened last weekend, so I hope we spend our time celebrating the great stories and performance of these Games and look ahead to celebrating future successes”, he wrote.
“As we understand it, the four athletes left France House early in the morning of August 14 in a taxi headed to the Olympic Village”, Blackmun said. Through the interpreter, the guards said the swimmers needed to pay them in order to leave.
“We will further review the matter, and any potential consequences for the athletes, when we return to the United States”. In everything I do, I am representing my family, my country and my school.
Mario Andrada, spokesman for the local organizers of the Rio Games, said 2.5 percent of the mentions on the (at) Rio2016 Twitter account since the beginning of the games have been about the Lochte situation.
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It took five days for American swimmer Ryan Lochte to issue a response to the turmoil and anger he left behind at the Summer Olympics.
