With the 2016 Summer Olympics coming to a close, the news has been filled with coverage of athletes fulfilling their dreams. And that’s what the Olympics are all about: the world coming together as one to celebrate one another’s diverse cultures and talents. The United States in particular brought home 46 gold, 37 silver and 38 bronze medals – 121 in total, which was the most out of any country. While this is impressive and something worth being proud of as a US citizen, I feel that there are a few elephants in the room that need to be talked about. Let's call these elephants Hope and Ryan for good measure.
Let’s begin with Hope Solo, the starting goalie for the US Women’s Soccer Team, who recently got some scrutiny over a few comments she said to the media. The first being this:
For obvious reasons, the people of Brazil (along with the rest of the world) were offended. She pretty much insinuated that Rio was dirty and that people should use extreme caution while visiting to make sure they don’t contract the zika virus. While she claims her comment was in good fun, Solo has 1.09 million followers on Twitter. I understand that everyone posts something that they may regret from time to time (side eyes to you Blake Shelton), but Solo’s comment was rude and brought negative attention to not only her, but also the entire United States Women’s Soccer team before they even arrived to play.
Soon after, Solo posted another comment, this time about the Sweden team following the US Women’s loss to them in penalty kicks. She stated that they “played a bunch of cowards.” Um, I don’t think I need to explain why this one was offensive. While Hope admitted that she was “really bad at losing," that doesn’t excuse what she said. Did you see Canadian sprinter, Andre De Grasse, posting rude comments after finishing second to Usain Bolt in the 200-meter semifinal race? No, you saw this:
And this:
That, my friends, is called sportsmanship; Something Solo could probably take a few pointers from De Grasse on. The Olympics aren't only about athleticism, but they’re also about supporting one another's achievements. There's nothing wrong with there being someone better than you. After all, if you were always the best, that wouldn't be a competition.
Next stop on the embarrassment train is Ryan Lochte.
The 32-year-old American Olympian has won 12 medals and is recognized as one of the best swimmers in the world. However, within the past week he's become recognized instead as a liar. Long story short, Lochte claimed that he had been robbed at gunpoint in Rio by men identifying themselves as police officers while he was out on the town with fellow Olympians. He stated that the men allegedly demanded money and held a gun to his head. Not even a week later, an investigation done by Brazilian police proved that the entire story had been fabricated and was not true at all.
What had really happened was: Lochte and friends got drunk while out on the town and proceeded to vandalize a gas station bathroom. They urinated all over the bushes surrounding the building, and Lochte damaged a sign, bathroom door and soap dispenser. A nearby security guard approached the situation, and asked for the swimmers to give him money for the damages. They apparently tried to run away which is when the security guard stopped them and threatened to call the police. The swimmers pleaded with him, and in the end gave him about $50 in total for their damages. So, you can imagine why this is a problem. Not only did he slander Brazil as a country by insinuating that a robbery happened when it didn’t, but once again it gave Americans a bad rap by how arrogant, entitled and selfish he acted. The fact that he felt he had the right to make up a lie like that as a public figure, instead of just apologizing and owning up to what he did is not only disgraceful to his American Olympic Swimming team, but also to America as his country.
OK rant over. Now, fast forward to Lochte having to uncomfortably back pedal on every statement he’s made and apologize for his huge lie in an interview with Matt Lauer. Since recently hiring Justin Bieber’s former crisis manager, Lochte came out and made a formal statement saying that he “let his team down” and that he apologizes for “his immature, intoxicated behavior.” Well, at least his PR team got something right.
The point is that America shouldn't be remembered after the 2016 Olympics for a few of our pompous and entitled athletes, but instead for the humble and amazing talent of everyone else that participated. While these situations are important to talk about, there is a greater picture out there than the bad decisions made by Solo and Lochte. My hope is that the future athletes of our country will learn from these actions and do the opposite by showing sportsmanship and staying respectful no matter how successful they may become.
