The Olympian apologized over fabricating an incident about being robbed at gunpoint with his teammates after a night out in Rio.
Ryan Lochte apologized Friday over fabricating a story about being robbed at gunpoint with his teammates by a man impersonating a police officer in Rio.
The US Olympic swimmer and his teammates became embroiled in an international controversy after they claimed to have been robbed at gunpoint during a night out in Rio. However, police discredited their account, saying that that Lochte and his teammates got into a confrontation with a security guard after they trashed a gas station's bathroom after leaving a party. Lochte behaved so erratically that the guard, an off-duty police officer, was forced to pull a gun on him, according to Rio officials. The guards then demanded money from Lochte and his teammates to pay for damages in cash.
Lochte, 32, and Jimmy Feigen, 26, were indicted by Brazilian authorities for falsely reporting a crime. Lochte returned to the US Monday, two days before the indictment was issued. Feigen agreed to make a charitable donation of nearly $11,000 in order to be allowed to leave Brazil on Thursday.
Gunnar Bentz, 20, and Jack Conger, 21, were allowed to leave Brazil Thursday after providing statements to law enforcement about the alleged robbery.
Matt Hazlett / Getty Images
"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," Lochte said, referring to an off-duty police officer who pulled a gun on Lochte when he behaved "out of control," according to officials.
Alexandre Aragão / BuzzFeed News / Via video-cdn.buzzfeed.com
"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," Lochte said.
G1 Globo / Via g1.globo.com
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