Ryan Lochte finally has issued an apology, but he didn’t exactly back away from his original story.
The U.S. Olympic swimmer, who originally claimed that he and three other teammates were robbed at gunpoint at a Rio de Janeiro gas station, posted a public statement Friday morning to his Twitter and Instagram feeds.
Lochte does admit and apologize for not being “more careful and candid” in describing the incident. He accepts responsibility for his part in “this happening” and says he regrets taking the spotlight away from other athletes at the Olympic Games.
But that’s about as much as an apology as we get regarding the actual incident. The 32-year-old describes the “traumatic” experience of being out late with friends in a foreign country, even as surveillance video appeared to show Lochte and his teammates fighting with a security guard at the gas station.
Lochte’s semi-apology also comes just days after he posted another statement on Instagram insisting he and his teammates were, in fact, robbed.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJGuJ_kBh8P/?taken-by=ryanlochte
Lochte and the other three swimmers reportedly still could be charged for falsifying a police report, so it appears this saga isn’t quite over yet.
Thumbnail photo via Peter Casey/USA TODAY Sports Images
