Ryan Lochte apologized for his conduct last weekend in Rio de Janeiro that precipitated an global scandal involving an alleged robbery and some imbecilic drunken behavior on the part of the 32-year-old gold medalist and three other USA Olympic swimmers.
Advertisement
A spokesperson for the U.S. Olympic Committee said in a statement earlier this week that Feigen, Lochte, Conger and Bentz were headed to Olympic Village early Sunday when their taxi cab was stopped by armed robbers posing as police officers.
Armed security guards then challenged the swimmers and one of them drew a gun and demanded they sit down, but Lochte then stood up and yelled at one of the guards, Bentz said, adding that he and teammate Jack Conger had tried to restrain him.
He accepted responsibility for his role in “taking the focus away from the many athletes fulfilling their dreams of participating in the Olympics”.
According to CNN, the fourth American in the taxi at the time of the alleged robbery – fellow swimmer Jimmy Feigen – has agreed to pay 35,000 Brazilian Reals (more than £8,300) to a Brazilian charity organisation. Feigen remains in Brazil. But he didn’t fully address the allegations made by the authorities. Bentz was interviewed by police for the first time Thursday after he was pulled from a plane about to leave for the U.S.by Brazilian authorities.
But Rio’s Civil Police Chief Fernando Veloso said the four USA swimmers were not robbed. ABC’s description of that confrontation: “one of the swimmers was seen on CCTV footage breaking down the door to the bathroom at the gas station and fighting with a security guard”.
Bentz and Conger were later pulled from a U.S. bound flight home by officials who suspected that the USA swimming team falsified some details of the event.
A source tells us the 31-year-old seemed relaxed during the outing, stopping to thank fans as they congratulated him on his athletic performance at the Summer Games in Brazil. You’re young and this will pass. “They did not represent the American athletes that are here”. “Tomorrow, start training for Tokyo”.
Many Brazilians have reacted angrily to the news that the swimmers fabricated their story, but others have said it shows the underlying problems in their crime-ridden nation.
“If this was a Brazilian or it wasn’t the Olympics, no one would have anxious about it”, said Janete Carvalho, 54, an English teacher, said on the streets of downtown Rio.
“They did not make any untruthful testimony”.
“No robbery was committed against these athletes. They were not victims of the crimes they claimed”, Civil Police Chief Fernando Veloso told a news conference.
The USOC said it would further review the incident and assess any potential consequences for the athletes.
Advertisement
US Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte described the events at a Rio de Janeiro gas station as “traumatic” in an apology Friday over his actions.
