In light of the Olympic games ending last month, we've seen much success for athletes both in the United States and abroad, amidst much turmoil in the social and political sphere that is Rio.
When we see such abuses and corruption in a government that is hosting the Olympics, it's hard to know how to approach the situation and discuss it because we have the world's greatest athletes taking center stage. But it's important to still do so. Ryan Lochte's behavior gave us the perfect outlet for that.
As the games unfolded, reading the articles, opinions and reviews following various events was exciting, and then I stumbled upon the news that Lochte and three other swimmers had an incident at a gas station.
My first thoughts were hoping that one of our top athletes was safe and well, since I hadn't even started to read the articles.
However, when I was looking into the story further, I began to ponder what really happened. And at that point the story was clear--while Lochte and his fellow teammates had reported being held at gunpoint and robbed on their way back to Olympic Village after a party, authorities charged Lochte for falsely reporting the robbery. Footage from a gas station where the athletes stopped leads to the conclusion that they hadn't been robbed, but had vandalized a gas station, paid damages and left, while most likely intoxicated. There are many angles and the story is changing, but that's the best account of what likely happened that night.
This seems all completely different from what I had started to describe in the beginning of my entry, but stick with me. After more research, I came across a perspective that I've become so much more passionate about in reaction to this story breaking--that the behavior by these Olympians truly describes a global conflict that is growing.
There has been such a stigma going into Rio, about the pollution, the politics, the water--whatever it may be. Every spectator admired the athletes while worrying about what was behind the scenes. In my opinion, that's good. We see more attention being brought to a place that is facing turmoil and that is what we need for progress to be made. But when it comes to Ryan Lochte, it just makes things worse.
His behavior makes it seem as though he doesn't appreciate Rio. He couldn't care less about the turmoil going on because he's just there for the games, so vandalizing a gas station wouldn't matter in his mind. Acting like you are above it all as a well-known athlete isn't okay. It's never okay to vandalize or cause trouble, but in a country that is already so desperate, why would you act like that?
It says a lot about not only his character, but a worldly attitude that many take on. There is so much wrong with the situation in Rio, but we glamorize a city for the purpose of the games. Likewise, there is so much going on in the world that we, especially Americans, don't pay attention to or care about in the wake of our materialism. I think Lochte's actions were shameful, and he should be charged because it wasn't an accident or a mistake and he had the ability to make a good choice to represent Team USA well. Instead, he made a choice that said a lot about his character and made people around the world wonder what it meant in the big picture.
