The summer has come and gone and so have the 2016 Rio Olympics. Many amazing feats of athleticism came out of the summer competition and if you’re anything like me you were glued to the screen watching every second of it. Despite the merriment of the event, there is a dark cloud hanging over the U.S. Men's Swimming Team and his name is Ryan Lochte. This issue may seem irrelevant now considering it occurred over a month ago, and with a 24-hour news cycle, no one is talking about it anymore. However, the incident raises many issues that need to be addressed and discussed despite the events being yesterday’s news.
I’m sure you remember hearing about the story. It was breaking news at the time, everyone wanted the scoop on Ryan Lochte being held at gun point and robbed. You might have even thought he was brave for handling the situation so calmly. As more details came out about the incident and doubt was cast upon his story, like me you probably dismissed it as new stations looking for a new and edgy angle. After all who would lie about being robbed right? Then the devastating news hit that he was in fact lying about the situation, not only that, but he and his buddies had been the aggravators in the situation. I was outraged that anyone would do such a thing. That a man who had so many people looking up to him as a role model would vandalize a bathroom in a drunken state of misconduct then lie about it.
Instead of anger and disappointment at the hands of the American people, Lochte was met with an air of indifference. No one seemed to care that one of our top athletes lied to everyone and made the city of Rio look bad. I remember how frazzled the Rio police were that someone could be impersonating them, how they put rules into place for the athletes to keep them safe, and launched a full out investigation to find the men behind such a heinous attack. Only to find out they were being stopped by a security guard for vandalism and destruction of property. But no one was angry, in fact many wrote it off as “boys will be boys” and “he’s young, these things happen.” This cavalier attitude had me floored. Was this the same Olympics that shamed Gabby Douglas for not placing her hand over heart during the national anthem? Was this not the same Olympics that cited super model Gisele Bundechen as one of Brazil’s prized exports?
Ryan Lochte made a fool of himself, and he should have faced repercussions for the damage he did, but this situation shines light on the blatant sexism in our culture. It shows that a male athlete can get wasted and harass the people of a foreign country then walk away without a scratch on him. But a female athlete will get ridiculed for not placing a hand over her heart. It makes me wonder what would have happened if the roles were reversed. Would Gabby Douglas be held unaccountable for her actions like Ryan? I dare say she would have been. The unfortunate truth is that sexism is still alive and well today, living and breathing in everyday society. Our culture of “boys will be boys” is promoted while girls are harshly criticized for every action they take. This is an unhealthy society that tells men they can do as they please while shaming girls for doing anything seen as improper. The Ryan Lochte scandal is only one example of this unfortunate sexism in athletics and in everyday life.
It’s time that everyone starts being held accountable for their actions. Lochte has proven that a male can commit an act of violence and not be held accountable. He has proven that the public will write off the situation and sweep it under the rug. He has proven that we live in a culture that cares less about the stunts pulled by men than the injustice of the situation.
