Rio Olympics: Ryan Lochte Issues Apology

After a day of taking the focus away from the actual Olympics he participated in, Ryan Lochte has issued an apology “for not being more careful and candid in how I described the events of that early morning” over a fabricated robbery. He goes on to say, “I waited to share these thoughts until it was confirmed that the legal situation was addressed and it was confirmed that my teammates would be arriving home safely.”

It was confirmed Friday morning that his teammates that had been detained in Brazil had flown back home to the United States safely. However, the team endured the taunts of the Brazilian crowd, who called them “liars” and “fakes” after police accused them of fabricating their story of a night of partying that led to a robbery at gunpoint by a man — or men, depending on the account — with a fake police badge. 

https://t.co/n82dZH2gfl pic.twitter.com/rGp1nmA94G

— Ryan Lochte (@RyanLochte) August 19, 2016

What started out as a robbery claim by Lochte and teammates, Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz and Jimmy Feigen in a suburb of Rio after a night of partying, turned into a full-blown international incident. Brazilian authorities claimed that no robbery took place, but that Lochte and the other swimmers vandalized a gas station bathroom. While the authorities initially claimed no guns were drawn on the Americans, the story eventually changed to two security guards that drew their weapons. 

While Lochte did apologize to the rest of Team USA, his sponsors, his fans and competitors, he never outright admitted what he may have done wrong besides not being more careful about how he described events. He does go on to say how traumatic it is to be “out late with your friends in a foreign country” having “a stranger point a gun at you and demand money.” 

Brazilian officials have suggested bringing charges against Lochte and other swimmers, though whether this Twitter apology will help lessen the chances of that remains to be seen. 

Video has surfaced of Ryan Lochte and other U.S. swimmer at Rio gas station the night of alleged robbery. Watch here.