Heading into these Olympics, there so much concern about security in Rio. The city has a reputation for street crime and that, along with worries about the Zika virus, probably scared a lot of potential Olympic visitors away. Brazil wanted to make it a point to let anyone traveling to Rio (whether it be a fan, athlete, official, family member, whatever) that they would be safe. The last thing they wanted was a high-profile member of a country's delegation to become the victim of a street crime, yet that's exactly what happened on Sunday morning. Or was it?
American swimmer Ryan Lochte claimed that he and three other swimmers (Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen) were robbed at gunpoint in the early hours of Sunday morning while returning from a party. This was Brazil's worst nightmare, both from a security and PR perspective. Not only was somebody the victim of a robbery, it was an Olympic athlete, and a high-profile one at that.
With Rio's reputation, Lochte's original account seemed completely plausible. In fact, some spectators and athletes from other nations have said that they've also been robbed since they've been in Rio. The Australian team went so far as to ban their athletes from going out in the Copacabana area at night, and they've barred two of their Olympians (one of whom was robbed) from the Closing Ceremony for breaking that rule.
Except it's becoming more and more apparent that what he claimed didn't happen at all. First, there were changing stories and conflicting accounts. Now there's surveillance video, which makes it pretty clear things didn't go exactly as Lochte said they did. At first, I had no doubt they were robbed, but was skeptical of the ever-changing details. After seeing the video, however, it seems obvious that they made the whole thing up.
Of course, the obvious question is why would they fabricate such a story? Lochte said that they didn't come forward at first because they feared they'd get in some sort of trouble, and only did when he realized they wouldn't. (Sidebar, how would four consenting adults who are all of legal drinking age and done with their competition deciding they wanted to go out and blow off some steam be a problem with anyone?) But even if that was the case, how do you immediately decide on being robbed at gunpoint was going to be your story? The only reason I can think of is because that with the time of day and Rio's reputation, that explanation was believable.
And people did believe it. The four swimmers were viewed as victims and the Brazilian police began investigating it as a crime. Although, frankly, it's because the Brazilian police are doing their job that the swimmers' story started to fall apart. They claimed the robbery happened a little after 4:30 a.m., yet there's video of them returning to the Olympic Village well after 6 a.m., not appearing at all traumatized from the incident. And the video from outside France House shows them leaving the party after 5:30, which would make it pretty tough to be in a cab and robbed at 4:30.
From watching the videos, you can piece together what actually happened. They got drunk and were acting like idiots. They stopped at a gas station, went into a bathroom and vandalized it in some way. When the gas station attendant wanted them to pay for the damage, one of them took out their wallet and did (which I assume is the so-called "robbery"). They did have a gun pointed at them. By a police officer who wanted them to get out of the taxi. But it was never pointed at Lochte's head, as he originally claimed.
This story has taken one bizarre turn after another over the past five days. Lochte went home. The others tried, but had their passports seized. Two were even pulled off their flight so that they could be questioned by authorities. It was in one of those police interviews that it came out Lochte made the whole thing up. They weren't robbed at all. If any crime was committed, it was likely by the swimmers. Vandalism, destruction of property, maybe even assault. Now, police are seeking an indictment against Lochte and Feigen for falsely reporting a crime (although Lochte, perhaps not coincidentally, got out of dodge beforehand).
Which brings me back to my original question, how is this any better than being upfront about what happened? Now this has been turned into an international incident. One that has completely hijacked the Olympics. When people look back at the Rio Games, this is one of the first things that's going to come up. And it's not a good look for anybody. Not the Rio organizers. Not Brazil. Not the USOC. Not USA Swimming. And especially not the four swimmers.
Sadly, this whole think wreaks of the Duke lacrosse scandal 10 years ago. In that case, we all jumped to conclusions and assumed they were guilty, until the facts came out and, as it turns out, the players were all telling the truth. Nothing happened. This is the reverse. We assumed they were innocent victims. But now the facts have come out and revealed them to be liars, who made up a story to try and cover up their drunken idiocy.
So far, Ryan Lochte's erroneous account is the only story we've heard about that night. I want to know what the other three have to say. Because the truth about the incident is out there somewhere. And it's going to come out. Did they think it wouldn't eventually?
A good number of Brazilians are demanding an apology from the swimmers. That's the least of what they deserve. Because there was absolutely no reason to fabricate such a tale to cover up your own behavior. Especially in a country so self-aware about its reputation.
I'm not surprised Ryan Lochte is the one who cried wolf. He's a 31-year-old child. (Proving how oblivious he is, he posted an Instagram video this afternoon where he was goofing around with a friend, only to delete it a couple hours later.) Hopefully this will serve as a wake-up call. It's time to grow up.
Because this entire story is completely despicable. And it never would've happened if you'd just kept your mouth shut. Nothing happened. We all know it. You should be embarrassed and ashamed that you said something did. It's not just the Brazilians who deserve an apology. It's the 318 million Americans that you were representing in Rio who are owed one, too. Because you're a reflection of us, and you're not making us look very good right now.
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