Asked by the Globo interviewer if he wanted to apologize, Lochte responded, “I am truly 110 percent sorry”.
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“We got pulled over, in the taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge, no lights, no nothing just a police badge and they pulled us over”. In a recent interview with Matt Lauer, Ryan Lochte admits “immature behavior” caused the robbery scandal and apologizes for his actions. “Like, all we know is that there was a gun pointed in our direction and we were demanded to give money”.
After questioning by Lauer, it appeared Lochte conceded that he knew the money he gave guards during the encounter at a Brazil gas station was for damages done, not a robbery as he previously claimed.
“I over-exaggerated that story”, Lochte told Lauer on Sunday, adding that the part of his story about an armed robber holding a gun to his forehead “didn’t happen”.
Lochte, with freshly-dyed brown hair, sat down with Lauer to say anything other than “I lied about being robbed” in an interview that had extreme “disappointed parent talking to an evasive child” vibes. “If I didn’t do that, we wouldn’t be in this mess… none of this would’ve happened it was my immature behavior”.
Lochte is now back in the U.S., but the other 3 swimmers – Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen – are still in Brazil after their passports were confiscated by a judge, and Lochte said he felt like he let down. “I took away from that, and that’s what I think hurts me the most”.
“Brazil doesn’t deserve that”, he said to Globo. He explained that no “gun was pointed at his forehead” and that he was aware that the guards were asking for money because of what had allegedly happened at the gas station.
But Rio police, citing surveillance video and witness testimony, said the swimmers had vandalized the gas station restroom.
The International Olympic Committee has established a disciplinary commission to investigate the incident, according to the Associated Press. “I’m not making me being intoxicated like an excuse, I’m not doing that at all”, he said.
“We just wanted to get out of there”, Lochte said, adding the swimmers were frightened.
His said, in part:”I waited to share these thoughts until it was confirmed that the legal situation was addressed and it was clear that my teammates would be arriving home safely”. “Regardless of the worldwide attention that this case has had and the false testimony, I say that from a legal point of view. the guards carried out a crime”.
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Lochte also expressed his hope that his criminal behavior, and the fallout from his lie, didn’t distract from what he believed were a “great” games. “I don’t want little kids to look at me for what I just did, for that one night”.
