The two men and fellow US swimmers Ryan Lochte and James Feigen reported being robbed at gunpoint early Sunday in a taxi bound for the Olympic Village by individuals posing as armed police officers, the US Olympic Committee said.
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Lochte and police do all agree on one thing: A gun was brandished, and money exchanged hands. The pair returned to Miami on Friday morning. “They did not go to the police station and they were not told to appear at the police station”, Riera said in an interview once both men had gone through check-in at Rio’s global airport.
Staff at the gas station said on Thursday that the USA swimmers ripped an advertising plaque off a wall and urinated against the building.
“They did not lie in their statements”.
“You MUST inform a member of team management if you are leaving the village and planning on staying out overnight – please do this BEFORE you leave”, the letter reportedly read.
The US Olympic Committee announced late on Thursday that Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger had provided statements to Brazilian police and their passports were returned.
“Then Ryan began to argue, said, “I did nothing wrong”, and they made them sit on the ground with the firearm pointing to them”.
Think back to in 2013, when some TV executive was so mesmerized by Lochte’s smile and his custom-made American flag dental grill that he green-lighted a show.
Though the U.S. committee apologized, the statement still largely corroborates Lochte’s account: The four were in a taxi, a gun was brandished and money was exchanged. He noted that they’ll be reviewing the incident further and considering “any potential consequences for the athletes”.
Police said earlier on Thursday that Bentz and Conger blamed Lochte for the original story saying he was drunk and agitated.
The swimming champ, who now has endorsement deals with brands including Ralph Lauren, Speedo and Airweave, could lose his contracts due to violating a morals clause if it’s proven that he lied in his police report, and Forbes estimates that it could cost him at least $5-10 million in future lifetime income.
The problem with the swimmers’ “story”, however, was surveillance footage from the gas station and other statements gave a very different account of what transpired. “The images do not show any kind of violence against them”.
The swimmers – who have repeatedly changed their accounts of what happened – could “in theory” face charges of giving false testimony and vandalism, Veloso said. “The only person that continues to say there was a robbery is (Lochte)”, Velso said after the press conference.
Brazilian police have now opened an investigation into the incident, says The Guardian, adding that crime has been a “major concern” for the Games.
“This kind of crime will not lead to their arrest”, Veloso said.
But Veloso insisted there was no evidence the guard’s actions were unreasonable.
Of the four, Lochte was the first to leave the country, thus eluding an attempt by police to seize his and Feigen’s passports earlier this week.
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Presumably this is the sort of unique keepsake an Olympic athlete might like to hold onto as a keepsake. The statement says the athletes have yet to be interviewed by police.
