Aug. 14, 2016: United States Olympian Ryan Lochte speaks with reporters about an incident involving himself and three other Olympic swimmers. According to Lochte, Brazilian civilians dressed as law enforcement ordered the four swimmers out of their taxi and commanded them at gunpoint to get on the ground. Lochte supposedly refused.
However, as media coverage exploded and investigators began looking into Lochte’s allegations, discrepancies began to appear. While Lochte had originally reported leaving Club France at 4 a.m., video footage revealed a 5:47 a.m. departure. The swimmers arrived at the scene of the incident, a gas station, around 6 a.m. Witnesses reported damage to a bathroom door after the swimmers’ visit. Police determined that, while a security guard had drawn his gun, no robbery had taken place. Lochte claimed that the alleged robber took his wallet and the other swimmers’ cash. Two days after Lochte spoke with reporters about the incident, he landed back on U.S. soil, despite Brazilian authorities’ intentions of charging him with providing a false testimony about a crime.
While Lochte has issued what I would call an informal and insufficient apology on Instagram, he has not clarified how or why his version of events differ from the truth. The Olympic swimmer still insists that a gun was pointed at him and that he was forced to hand over money. As speculation continued to swirl around the event, Lochte said, “It’s traumatic to be out late with your friends in a foreign country – with a language barrier – and have a stranger point a gun at you and demand money to let you leave.” Even if the lies weren’t enough, this statement from Lochte truly sums up just how immature he is and how unworthy he is of currently being called a U.S. Olympian.
Nearly a month after the incident, Lochte’s punishment has been announced. A ten-month suspension from domestic and international competitions has been enacted on the Olympic veteran. The ban will prevent Lochte from swimming in the 2017 World Championships in Budapest. In addition, Lochte will lose his $3,500-a-month U.S.A Swimming stipend – money he will quickly make up as a contestant on Dancing With the Stars. A 20-hour community service requirement has been tacked on to the swimmer’s “heavy load” as well.
While Lochte has not been stripped of his Olympic medals for the incident, the loss of the stipend and miniscule community service hours seem like a gentle slap on the wrist for someone who is supposed to be an exemplary athlete and role model for young athletes around the globe. If we hold our athletes to a higher standard than we do some of our politicians, what does this say about their quick return into our graces? What does that say about the U.S.A. as a nation? Where do our priorities lie? And what does Lochte’s light punishment say about the respect we have for other foreign countries?
In his apology, Lochte said that he was grateful to “the people of Brazil who welcomed us to Rio and worked so hard to make sure that these Olympic Games provided a lifetime of great new memories.” I think it is safe to say that both Americans and Brazilians feel that this statement is lacking at best. I think Lochte has a lot of work – and apologizing and truth-telling – ahead of him before being restored to America’s good graces.