Thirty-two-year-old "bro" of a swimmer Ryan Lochte told Brazilian police that he was robbed last week by men dressed as Brazilian officials. He detailed the encounter by adding that they were armed and one even pointed a gun right at his head. But, as we all know now, he lied about such incidents.
But, since he seemed like such an honest person and Brazil having the problems it has, we gave Ryan the benefit of the doubt because it seems like a believable story. But you know what beats a pampered swimmer's story? Video cameras. Yep, video cameras at a local gas station caught Lochte and a few other swimmers, intoxicated, running amok in Brazil. They vandalized a gas station, almost got in a fight with security guards and completely took advantage of their stay in Brazil. There is photographic proof that not one moment of their "adventure" were they in any harm.
But who cares right? This man-child and four other man-children lied about being confronted by criminals; how does that affect me? The truth is that it doesn't affect anyone here in America directly. Sure he lied to us, but we are not the victims here. The men, women and children who are living in poverty and crime-filled areas of Brazil are the victims. Why, you ask? Because their misfortunes were taken advantage of by Lochte, for he told the story. He took advantage of the terrible things that are happening in Brazil and used these things to fabricate a story to get him off the hook from getting in trouble. It reminded me of Susan Smith in the 1990s, who used a racial hoax of a black man carjacking her and killing her two children when it was really her that killed her children - the effect: a further racial divide in our country. Different situation, yes, but Lochte used the negative stereotypes of a group of people, similar to Smith, to get away with something. We are to blame as well, because even though Brazilian officials and the IOC determined these claims as false, we believed Lochte, not the dozens of officials who had proof he lied. What does that say about us and Lochte? He has the privilege to know Americans were going to believe him and took advantage of his privilege to seem like a "hero" who stood up to Brazilian criminals.
Ryan Lochte in all sense should be ashamed of himself. He is essentially a diplomat, going over to another country to participate in the Olympic Games to promote the unity of the entire planet. Instead, he commits this disgusting act. Think about it. The man has fans, he is a role model and he is a worldwide athlete. He needs to be set to the highest standard possible for any athlete. He is responsible for the discrimination he committed against the Brazilian people, especially the Brazilian people who live in poverty, the people who face situations he claimed he faced everyday. Best thing for you to do, Ryan, accept that you lied and pray that the world will forgive you for discriminating an entire nation.
