USA Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte finally responded to the mess he caused after lying about being robbed at gunpoint in Brazil. The man who once applied for a trademark for the catchphrase “Jeah” took to Twitter to issue a lengthy apology about the widely publicized lie and the scandal it caused.
https://twitter.com/RyanLochte/status/766638785140498432
There are parts of Lochte’s apology which are complete and utter bullshit.
“I want to apologize for my behavior last weekend – for not being more careful and candid in how I described the event of early that morning…”
Not being more candid? You told TODAY’s Matt Lauer “We wouldn’t make this story up,” and claimed to be a victim. Come on. At no point does he admit to lying in the apology, which he clearly did more than once.
“I waited to share these thoughts until it was confirmed that the legal situation was addressed and it was clear my teammates would be arriving home safely.”
No. You waited to share these thoughts when the situation blew up so bad that you were forced to comment on it. At least Lochte waited until it was clear his teammates, who he abandoned in Rio, made to follow his lie and embarrassed worldwide, were able to get home before speaking out. What a great guy.
“Regardless of the behavior of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for am sorry to my teammates, my fans, my fellow competitors, my sponsors and the hosts of this great event.
You mean you shouldn’t have pissed on the wall of a gas station? You think? Also, I’d imagine his teammates and whatever fans he has left aren’t impressed. Shoutout to his sponsors too, some of whom probably won’t be sticking with him following the incident.
“There has already been too much said and too many valuable resources dedicated to what happened last weekend, so I hope we spend our time celebrating the great stories and performances of these Games and look ahead to celebrating future successes.”
The only reason too much has been said is the fact Lochte lied and kept lying about what happened. He’s directly to blame for wasting resources and overshadowing fellow USA teammates. More attention should be given to Michael Phelps’ record-breaking medal total, Simone Biles’ four gold medals and the United States’ 100 total medals so far.
Instead, Lochte’s drunken stupor with his teammates and subsequent mishandling of the situation has become the story of the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. He’s asking for it to blow over, but it’s not going to.
I doubt Lochte wrote the statement himself as it’s too polished for his small vernacular, but it comes across as insincere lawyer speak. Lochte has plenty of apologizing still to do. Hopefully, he’s more sincere in his next one.
