“Regardless of the behavior of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that am sorry”, Lochte said.
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Police later said a video showed a security official pulling his weapon to restrain a drunk and angry Lochte and his teammates because they tried to leave after vandalizing a gas station bathroom.
Apart from Bentz and Conger, the incident involved gold medalist Ryan Lochte, one of America’s most decorated swimmers and the most outspoken about the robbery, and Jimmy Feigen, who also won a gold medal in Rio.
Lochte, who flew to the United States the day after Sunday’s incident, said he should have been more careful and candid in his account, but said it had been traumatic to have a stranger point a gun at him in a foreign country and demand money.
Three of Lochte’s sponsors – Speedo, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Airweave – tell CBS News they are reviewing the situation.
He said he accepted responsibility for his role in the case and had “learned some valuable lessons”.
The story has been a major source of embarrassment for the U.S. Olympic team which itself apologised to organisers for the swimmers’ behaviour.
Bentz and Conger – who were taken off a plane at Tom Jobim International Airport on Wednesday and whose passports were seized by police who wanted answers about a reported robbery – gave statements to the authorities and have now been allowed to leave Rio de Janeiro, Blackmun said late Thursday.
Until his apology, Lochte had been silent about the situation after he returned to the United States early this week.
“They stopped next to the gas pump and peed on everything”, the manager told O’Globo.
Brazilian federal police recommended Lochte and Feigen face charges of falsely reporting a crime, punishable by up to six months in jail, while ABC News reported that Feigen agreed to pay US$11,000 to a local charity to avoid formal charges.
USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus issued his own statement tonight, in which he said, “The last five days have been hard for our USA Swimming and United States Olympic families”. According to Turcotte, Bentz fully cooperated with Rio authorities when asked to provide testimony, where he said that he was not robbed.
On Thursday, the USOC apologized “to our hosts in Rio and the people of Brazil” and said the swimmers’ behavior was unacceptable.
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But he added: “My only feelings towards them (the swimmers) are pity and contempt”.
