Lochte apologizes for not being more candid about incident
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this Sunday frame from surveillance video released by Brazil Police, swimmer Ryan Lochte, second from right, of the United States, and teammates, appear at a gas station during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A top Brazil police official said the swimmers damaged property at the gas station.
RIO DE JANEIRO » U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte apologized today for his behavior surrounding an incident at a Rio de Janeiro gas station, saying he should have been more “careful and candid” about how he described what happened after a night of partying with his teammates.
But he didn’t explain why he embellished details of an encounter with armed security guards and called it a robbery, and why he omitted to say that he and three teammates had vandalized a gas station restroom.
“Regardless of the behavior of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that am sorry,” Lochte said in a lengthy post on his Instagram account. “This was a situation that could and should have been avoided. I accept responsibility for my role in this happening and have learned some valuable lessons.”
Whatever they were, for now, he’s keeping them to himself.
The situation raises questions about the future for Lochte, who is planning to take time off from swimming but wants to return to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Usually known for his party boy image and love of the limelight, he now is facing a line of nervous sponsors, the possibility of legal charges in Brazil and sanctions from USA Swimming and the International Olympic Committee.
The robbery flap deeply hurt Brazilians, who were eager to prove they could get street crime under control and host a safe Olympics. And it overshadowed the efforts of U.S. Olympians, who have dominated the medal count. Swimmers alone piled up 16 golds and 33 medals total at the games.
Known for his outsized personality and regular ‘bro’ behavior, Lochte has always been about having fun. This is the guy who gleefully admitted eating McDonald’s three times a day while winning four medals at the 2008 Beijing Games. For Rio, he dyed his dark hair white, not realizing the pool’s chlorine would turn it light green.
His memorable props — diamond grills on his teeth on the medal podium, crazily colored high-tops, sunglasses bearing his favorite made-up expression of “Jeah!” — and easygoing, goofy nature has made him a popular and relatable star with the public and his teammates.
“I think that is why I do so many different things with the hair, the grills, the crazy shoes,” he said in Rio, “It’s just my personality coming out there.”
Lochte’s success led to his own 2013 reality TV show called “What Would Ryan Lochte Do?” It had a short run and left some viewers with the impression that its star was nothing more than a good-looking dim bulb. Still, lines for his autograph sessions at meets routinely stretch longer than anyone else’s.
As hard as he plays, Lochte works hard, too. His 12 Olympic medals are second only to Michael Phelps among U.S. male Olympians.
This time Lochte was only a small part of the show. He finished fifth in his only individual event and swam on the victorious 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Instead, the biggest memory of the 32-year-old swimmer in Rio will be the grainy security video of him and teammates Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen exiting the gas station restroom and sitting on the ground, some with hands up.
Like other pro swimmers, Lochte is reliant on sponsors to foot his bills so he can focus on year-round training and travel to meets without having to hold a regular job.
His sponsors, including Speedo, Ralph Lauren and airweave premium bedding, have been in no hurry to cut ties with him, though have said they are monitoring the situation.
The incident feeds a lot of American clichés of the bad-boy athlete, and while it was relatively minor, it is “unsavory,” says Thomas Ordahl, chief strategy officer at the brand consulting firm Landor.
Ordahl believes it’s probably a good idea for companies to hold off on making decisions until the issue surrounding the dispute is sorted out. But he suspects that eventually, sponsors will probably drop Lochte.
“The truth is that there are enough celebrities to be attached to without bringing that kind of baggage with you,” said Robert Passikoff, president and founder of the research firm Brand Keys.
USA Swimming is expected to convene its executive board to discuss likely punishment, as it did when Michael Phelps was arrested for a second DUI two years ago. Technically, the four could be fined, suspended or expelled. 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.
For Phelps, it was his third strike.
This is Lochte’s first major gaffe, and whatever sanctions the national governing body passes down could have little effect on the professional swimmer. He’s already said he plans to take the first extensive break of his career following the Olympics and move from North Carolina to California. A suspension could keep him out of next year’s world championships — often bereft of big stars following an Olympic year — and the Arena Pro Swim Series, a five-meet circuit in the U.S. But that would hardly impact Lochte should he decide to resume training for the 2020 games.
As for the other three, Feigen has indicated he would retire after Rio and the 26-year-old is looking forward to attending law school somewhere in Texas. He made a $10,800 payment to a Rio charity that teaches martial arts to poor children after the incident, and his passport was returned. He left Brazil Friday night.
Bentz and Conger stumbled just as they were getting started on the international stage, so the repercussions could linger longest with the Olympic rookies. They, along with Feigen, swam in preliminary heats, and earned gold medals when their teammates won relays in the finals.
They returned home to the U.S. Friday.
Bentz will be a 20-year-old junior majoring in business at Georgia this fall and Conger will be a 21-year-old senior majoring in corporate communication at Texas. They remain amateurs and presumably will continue their NCAA careers with their respective programs, which also could hand out punishment.
What may take longer for everyone to forget is how the four stole the spotlight.
“While we are thankful our athletes are safe, we do not condone the lapse in judgment and conduct that led us to this point,” USA Swimming executive director Chuck Wielgus said. “It is not representative of what is expected as Olympians, as Americans, as swimmers and as individuals.”
57 responses to “Lochte apologizes for not being more candid about incident”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Candid and careful? How about truthful? What an embarrassment to his teammates, the US athletic contingent in Rio, and a total disregard for the host nation and the spirit of the Olympic games. While other athletes uphold the spirit of the Games, and display honor, courage and friendship, we have this one who cannot even admit he lied to cover up his reprehensible behavior.
Didn’t this all begin because he lied to his Mommy first and then she blasted the story on social media? My mother would have dug and dug until she got to the truth and then there would be h____ to pay. Dragged by the ear to the gas station, pay for the repairs, apologize to the owners, and then dragged to the airport and taken home for more punishment. But not this mommy. Don’t they call these ones helicopter moms?
I gave up seeing the video clip. Computer is a little flaky today.
But his description of the security guard in uniform with a gun makes sense.
What doesn’t make sense is a report elsewhere in the news that one of the swimmers who used the bathroom toilet couldn’t get OUT and he had to break the door down.
Do foreign toilets have coin slots that wont let you out unless you pay? What a crazy incident.
It seems that they weren’t looking for trouble. Locte doesn’t have his wallet. Did the security guard take the wallet because he was angry with Locte? Remember Locte refused to go on the ground. You should always obey the man with the gun.
He’s trying to do damage control to hang on to his sponsors and keep a spot on the team.
His sponsors will dump him like the plague, costing him hundreds of thousands of dollars. Just punishment for his failure to live up to the Olympic standards, Man Up to his personal failures.
He is so use to being spoiled and privileged he and he thought he could get away with anything he wants. That only works in the USA. LOL!
agree..his frat boy behavior has soured what had been a great Olympics for America.
He doesn’t deserve to represent the USA.
We have so many athletes now whose behavior is reprehensible. It’s no wonder that this incident in Rio happened. From drugs, to just plain self-indulgence, it’s time to reevaluate the Olympics. So many professional athletes compete, the idea of amateurs is ridiculous. It should be held in Athens, every time. Enough with the Olympic committee and their absurd bribes. You want to send athletes on drugs, knock yourself out. Since it’s become a carnival, lets watch that.
peanut–they think they can get away with something like that–they don’t realize you have to be a politician in order to do that!!!!
That may be a step to far. LOL I do think we should stop treating athletes like heros and Gods. It goes to their head and they think they can get away with anything, especially in America. I wonder if other countries put up with bad behavior?
And most of these athletes are supposed to be responsible adults. Now we have 4 idiots that shamed the US Olympic teams. He should be fined or donate money to the Brazilian economy.
No, really just one – Lochte.
They were like white snow on top of a mountain . Their fabricated story was too loud of dishonesty and the cause of a devastating Avalanche and nearly if not destroyed the essence of the Olympics; good will among all Nations!
How much of Mr. Feigen’s $10,800.00 will end up in the pockets of the cops and judge who “investigated” this heinous crime ?? Brazil is a corrupt country, that has been economically surpassed by Mexico. Their inferiority complex has just surfaced as they attempt to humiliate the US by CREATING an international incident for some stupid, drunk, young men immature and ill advised conduct !! I’ve spent over 3 months living in Brazil twice and the people are wonderful. They are friendly, helpful, and generous to a fault. However, the government, judicial system, and especially law enforcement is a FARCE. They are an evil, corrupt, extorting bunch of thugs controlled by the richest families in Brazil. Brazil is considered a democracy, but oligarchy is a much more accurate description.
What Ryan Lochte and the other young US swimmers did was stupid and NOTHING more. The faltering Brazilian economy and the corrupt failing government are just using this to divert attention from the very real possibility of impeachment of their incompetent President Dilma Rousseff. Her powers as President have already been suspended and Brazil’s interim President is currently under investigation !!
Are you kidding me ?? What a farce the media has created !!!
The Brazilians did not create the incident, Lochte did! Transparency is also lacking in our own country, the pot had better call the kettle an idiot?
Brazil a corrupt country? Your rant sounds more appropriate for OUR country! One need look no further than our current “president” and his compulsive lying to the American people. Where do you even begin?
No it is extortion…$11K per person? The bathroom did not look damaged to me this morning on the news. Brazil is a RIP-OFF! And the start of the ‘Dislike Brazil and their cultural attitude towards American’s because we got all the GOLD BABY! Go home a surf your shifty water, leave Hawaii for Americans.
Call it what you want, but I’m sure making a “donation” is preferable to spending time in a Brazilian prison.
Your attitude is what is wrong with this world!!!!!! They were wrong and they should have owned it!!!!
More than 2 hours awaiting moderation? Mighty long lunch hour.
He’s a lying punk!! Nothing more and nothing less.
Exactly!
What is not mentioned here in this article is that the swimmers were invited to an informal party by the French team where the alcohol was made available. I do not mention this to accuse the French of trying to set the Americans up as they are full grown adults who should have known better. I’m just stating this as it seemed interesting that this information was not shared. This underbelly of the Olympic tradition sparks an interest in what lies outside of what we the spectators see on television. Unfortunately, alcohol is part of the partying of Olympic participants that choose this type of behavior. Of course, they are probably not the majority of the athletes who perform. It is sad that these athletes chose the route that they did as it appears that they lied to cover up a misdeed and as a result made an embarrassment of themselves and the other American athletes. The United States now must work hard to to do its damage control because of these athletes who chose to get drunk and participate in mischief. I do feel for them but at the same time we as a society must stop using youth as an excuse for irresponsible behavior. Let us focus on the good athletes who performed to the very best of their abilities and give credit even to those who did not win a gold medal as it seems the media only focuses on the gold medalists.
Maybe the whole French soire thing wasn’t mentioned because it’s IRRELEVANT.
People need to take responsibility for their own actions. These are grown men not 10 year olds!
Lying should have consequences like being kicked off the US swimming team and being barred from future Olympic games. Oh, but wait. This is the United States where it is ok for public figures to lie repeatedly and still be a candidate for President.
Lochte apologizes for not being more candid about incident!!! What he really means is, I am a liar and I regret getting caught! This is what a privileged white boy acting like a punk kid does and leaves his “friends” to pay answer to the cops. He should not get any endorsements. He does not represent this country they way he should.
And he should have to return medals won at Rio and not be allowed to participate in another Olympic even ever !!!!!
I agree completely!
All of us make mistakes along the way, and most of them turn out the best lessons in life.
True…look at how many posted negative comments about Rio when the “story” first came out. And now they’re quick to criticize Lochte…maybe next time people will wait for the whole story to come out…but I doubt it.
yes, the boys may have acted like idiots and should have known better. yes, they should be responsible for any physical damages they may have caused. dirty americans. BUT, why were they held down at gun point and why was the wallet taken? lochte and group need some advocacy from their homeland and all we can do is kow tow, kow tow, kow tow.
Because that’s how they roll down in Rio. You think the athletes weren’t warned? And yet they still partied on like a bunch of frat boys.
Didn’t see any guns in the video and they shouldn’t have vandalized the bathrooms.
You are absolutely wrong. They are adults for one and they were told how to conduct themselves. You are one of those people who don’t think personal responsibility matters? You would probably make excuses for your own kid instead of having them learn a lesson.
typical knucklehead Americans going around acting like fools
Regarding: “U.S Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte apologized Friday for his behavior surrounding an early-morning incident at a Rio de Janeiro gas station, saying he should have been more ‘careful and candid’ about how he described what happened after a night of partying with his teammates.”
By “more careful and candid” he means he shouldn’t have LIED !!!
Maybe the dye/bleach on his hair affected his brain.
Like Trump?
“Ugly Americans”, thought those days were over but obviously not. Spoiled whites feeling privileged – guess that’s never going to change.
What would Donald Trump say when a foreigner bust up a gas station and then wants to dig out without paying?
How ironic when the Chump has been digging out from his financial obligations his entire life.
If that foreigner was his wife, he would sue the service station for “sexual harassment”.
I have no desire to travel to Rio after watching the olympics and seeing the disgusting conditions the people live in. Corrupt Police, not surprised.
When I saw Phelps gesture to the crowd to “bring it on” (to himself) on his gold medal win…I opted to not watch anymore of the Olympics. It’s really sad how badly many (not all) of our athletes behave. Has the U.S. Olympic Committee issued out a statement?
As another poster said, ugly Americans. Some countries view us as arrogant, spoiled brats. For them, this confirms it. We quickly sink into being victims and telling the world about it. Having said this, Lochte now qualifies to be a presidential candidate ; )
I guess today’s moderator is truly a Lochte fan. Got my commentary got removed for basically saying that it was the stupid actions of these idi-ts that got them into trouble period! Better to pay up then to spend who knows how many years in a Brazilian prison. Lochte will only be remembered for his screw ups vs his victories.
Awaiting moderation again.
Too little, too late!!!!
Total ban from going to another Olympic. Shame on him.
Candid? How about replacing that word with “Honest”? You had better forget about any endorsements, Ryan. Why would I want to buy a product pitched by a proven LIAR? You have tarnished our beloved country by acting like a spoiled brat (which you are), then trying damage control, however contrived. You are THE textbook example of UGLY AMERICAN. You will not be remembered for winning medals for our country. You’ll be remembered for holding us up to ridicule by your painfully juvenile antics. Please, just go away. No one’s listening anymore.
Why are athletes such big babies? What ever happened to being a role model? Control yourself dude ! You’re representing your country !
Nevermind Ryan, At least you apologized for your mistake, unlike a certain President and Woman running for President whose nose’s put Pinocchio’s to shame. Go Team USA
What Shotzy is saying is that Ryan at least acknowledged that he lied and apologized. Something Obama hasn’t done with respect to his most recent lie, about the ransom paid to Iran. No easy way out when Obama is representing our country. He should be dealt with immediately. Oh, you said that.
Ryan Lochte now realizes that no one can run away from “lying mistakes.”
Sick puppy….he lied.