As expected, the United States dominated the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio with a staggering medal count of 121.
Unfortunately, the delegation is also making headlines due to an unfortunate incident that many feel typifies the notion of the ugly American.
As you’ve no doubt heard by now, US swimmer Ryan Lochte claimed he was robbed at gunpoint along with three of his teammates after a night of clubbing in the host city.
When Brazilian authorities noticed several holes in his story, they issued a statement claiming that they had reason to believe Lochte lied about the robbery.
An attempt was made to seize the 32-year-old’s passport and detain him, but he had already fled the country.
The three teammates who were with him that night were held for questioning and slowly the truth began to emerge:
Lochte was not robbed, but instead had a heated confrontation with a security guard after he was caught vandalizing a gas station.
None of the athletes appear to be facing any sort of legal consequences (though one was forced to fork over nearly $ 11,000 in restitution), but the impact on Lochte’s career could be devastating.
Earlier today Speedo severed ties with Lochte and the US Olympic Committee has stated that “further action” will be taken with regard to discipline.
So it should come as no surprise that the Lochte apology tour is in full swing:
Unfortunately, while he may be graceful in the pool, Lochte is floundering in his requests for forgiveness, and his sincerity has been widely questioned.
Given what a large role alcohol played in his fall from grace, it’s somewhat surprising that Lochte hasn’t checked into rehab, usually one of the first stops for a celeb in damage control mode.
A TMZ paparazzo caught up with Lochte at LAX last night, where he was presumably soon to board a plane to his native Rochester, NY.
Not surprisingly the pap asked Lochte about his drinking habits, to which the swimmer had this to say:
“It’s definitely something that I’m gonna have to be more responsible about. Everything that happened in Rio, I’m gonna learn from it
Asked point-blank if rehab or addiction counseling are in his future, Lochte was even more evasive:
“I don’t know. I can’t answer that question right now. Right now, I need to just see my family and talk with them about it.”
So there you have it.
It seems Lochte probably won’t be seeking help for any substance abuse issues any time soon…
…which probably won’t help with that whole “convincing people he’s genuinely remorseful” thing.
