If you've used any form of social media within the last couple weeks, I'm sure you've heard about the Ryan Lochte scandal, which has exploded and is being eaten up by the media. In short, Ryan Lochte of the USA Swimming Olympic Team claimed to have been robbed at gunpoint while in a taxi in Brazil. Early Sunday morning, August 14th, Lochte and three other athletes came back to the Olympic village with a story of being robbed by Brazil officials. Lochte's mother, who was the first to publicly address the issue, clarified that the US swimmers were partying that night in Club France, right outside of where the French Olympians were residing during the Games. Later that day, Lochte came forward to recount his story to NBC News:
"We got pulled over, in the taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge, no lights, no nothing, just a police badge and they pulled us over. They pulled out their guns, they told the other swimmers to get down on the ground. They got down on the ground. I refused, I was like, 'We didn't do anything wrong, so I'm not getting down on the ground.' And then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and he said: 'Get down,' and I put my hands up, I was like 'Whatever.' He took our money, he took my wallet. He left my cell phone, he left my credentials."
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Immediately, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) contacted Brazil officials and a Brazil judge. The judge issued a statement that Wednesday, August 17th, asking all the Olympic swimmers to remain in Rio until the investigation was completed. Unfortunately, Ryan Lochte had not received news of the statement until after he arrived back in the United States. His two teammates, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, were detained in Brazil after attempting to leave the country, also unaware of the judge's statement.
When Bentz and Conger were asked about Sunday's events, they both agreed that Lochte's story was extremely exaggerated and very far from the truth. They recounted a story of minor vandalism to the gas station at which they stopped, and confessed that a few swimmers had urinated on the building.
After complying with Brazil's requests, police released the swimmers, who returned home to the United States less than 24 hours after being removed from their original flight. As soon as Bentz and Conger landed safely in the US, Ryan Lochte released an apology on his Instagram and Twitter, apologizing for, "not being more careful and candid" in his testimony on Sunday. This apology was accepted by some, but upset many even more. Although it settled the disagreements between the USOC and Brazil officials, Lochte did not admit to his lies, which frustrated many spectators and fans.
Ryan Lochte's misuse of words has ruined the trust between the IOC and himself. Whether or not USA Swimming will continue to accept Lochte as a swimmer or not is still undetermined, as one of their policies is "conduct," where they expect swimmers to represent their country impeccably. Will Ryan Lochte's decisions put his future in danger, or did his public apology save his career?
