Now that the entire bro-party-turned-overblown-international-incident involving Ryan Lochte and three other Usa swimmers appears to have settled down, we’re getting all sides of the night in question.
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He said that Lochte “pulled to the ground a framed metal advertisement that was loosely anchored to the brick wall” and claimed “Ryan and the security guards had a heated verbal exchange” but said no guns were pulled. “Whether you call it a robbery, whether you call it extortion, or us paying just for the damages, like, we don’t know”, Lochte responded. “All we know is that there was a gun pointed in our direction and we were demanded to give money”.
Lochte admitted to that in the interview on Saturday night.
“Understand that the Brazilian population was quite disappointed in the actions and the facts”, said Rio spokesperson Mario Andrada on Friday.
When Lochte admitted that he exaggerated the part of the story with the gun, Lauer asked him why.
“While I am anxious to put this matter behind me…” “I over-exaggerated what was happening to me”.
“I deeply regret the trouble and embarrassment this event has brought to the people of Brazil and Rio de Janeiro, and the distraction it has caused from the achievements of my fellow Olympians”, Conger said in a statement Saturday. The commission will determine if the swimmers will face any punishment. In an interview aired on Globo TV after the proud soccer country won its first Olympic gold in a penalty shootout, Lochte apologised to the nation.
The swimmers – Lochte, James Feigen, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz – claimed they were robbed in the early morning hours of August 14 as they returned from a party, an allegation Brazilian police deny.
Fernando Veloso, head of the civil police of Rio, told reporters Thursday that security cameras revealed the swimmers actually visited a gas station early Sunday morning, and that witnesses said they damaged a bathroom, were confronted by an armed guard and left before police arrived. On Friday, Lochte issued a statement saying he should have been “more careful and candid” in discussing the incident, but maintained a gun was pointed at him by a stranger and that the swimmers were forced to pay money to leave the gas station.
“I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that am sorry to my teammates, my fans, my fellow competitors, my sponsors and the hosts of this great event”, the 32-year-old Lochte said in a statement. “Participating in the Olympics was a wonderful experience, and I want to express my appreciation to Brazil and to Rio de Janeiro for being wonderful hosts”.
Speedo said in a statement that it is following the situation closely. His 12 medals are second only to Michael Phelps among USA male Olympians.
“We do not allow unlawful behavior and will continue to monitor the investigation closely”.
“I believe that all of us need to accept the apologies of the US Olympic Committee, the same way our Olympic Committee would have had to apologize if the assault had occurred”.
The Airweave/Lochte partnership was already scheduled to end this year.
USOC has also submitted an apology to Rio.
“He’s certainly on the back end of his swimming career”, Brennan said. They’re my teammates and I wanted to be there. And we wanted to get out of there as quick as possible. In the Phelps case, the board announced a week after the arrest that it was suspending the sport’s biggest star for six months, banning him from competing in the 2015 world championships and taking away six months of his funding stipend.
He said he never saw anyone break down a toilet door, and that the swimmers relieved themselves on nearby bushes after a night out.
It said it would further review the incident and assess any potential consequences for the athletes.
Unfortunately for him, there was video of Lochte and his posse vandalizing a gas station bathroom and being held by security guards.
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Bentz, 20, and Conger, 21, remain amateurs and are both at university, in Georgia and Texas respectively.
