Ryan Lochte had already tucked himself safely back inside of the United States by the time that police in Rio had figured out the allegations that he and three teammates of his had been robbed at gunpoint at a gas station. Amid rumors of Rio's crimes and a bias held by many regarding the host city, not many people doubted his story. He, while trying to grab hold of the media, claimed that a man had held a gun to his head while demanding the cash from his wallet. Interestingly, he only took cash, not other items of value, such as cell phones. However, Lochte's story changed depending on who he was talking to. In one story, he and his teammates had been pulled over on the street by a man pretending to be a cop. Later, he said he had been at a gas station when he had been approached by the robber.
A surveillance video, released now, has proved that Lochte's story was not true. He and his teammates James Feigen, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz were seen at the gas station vandalizing the bathroom. It is believed that they were drunk and returning from a party. When they stepped into the taxi, they were approached by an armed man, but this was not a robber, he just wanted the men to pay for the damage they had caused to the gas station. They agreed, and were allowed to leave, but the story they told the next morning told a different tale.
It is not known why they lied about the gas station story, it may be that they were trying to cover up how late they were out. Their accounts had them being robbed much earlier than they were at the gas station. Or maybe they just didn't want people to know what they had done to the gas station. Whatever they were trying to do, there was no excuse for their actions. Ryan Lochte was not a kid having fun, he is 32 years old, a grown man, and responsible for his own actions, and made sure he was in the US and away from charges before the truth came out.
His story was trying to tarnish the host city even more. Rio has problems with poverty and crime that affect their own people, and Lochte and his teammates were some Americans trying to take advantage of the harsh conditions many Brazilians live in. The Americans can leave, the people of Rio cannot. Their actions could have had horrible consequences for other people as well; a person could have been arrested for a crime that they did not even commit.
Americans often wonder why they aren't liked by parts of the world. Although the American swimmer's actions obviously do not speak for all Americans, who can blame Brazilians for disliking the nation that the athletes that tried to tarnish them came from?
