United States Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun confirmed via a statement on Thursday, August 18, that Ryan Lochte, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen were indeed involved in vandalizing a gas station bathroom in Rio on Sunday, August 14 — the night that Lochte claimed they were robbed and held at gunpoint.
As previously reported by Us Weekly, Lochte claimed during an interview with Billy Bush on Sunday that he and his teammates were robbed by men dressed as police officers. On Thursday, August 18, however, Civil Police Chief Fernando Veloso said during a press conference that there “was no robbery” and that Brazilian officials believe that Lochte and his teammates lied about being robbed to cover up a fight they were allegedly involved in after vandalizing the gas station bathroom.
In the statement, the USOC apologized to the people of Brazil for the swimmers’ “unacceptable” behavior and noted that they’ll be reviewing the matter further, as well as considering “any potential consequences for the athletes.”
Read the statement in its entirety below:
“Two U.S. Olympic swimmers (Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger) have given statements to local authorities today regarding the incident first reported on Sunday, August 14, 2016. Their passports have been released and they recently departed Rio.
After providing a statement earlier in the week, a third (James Feigen) provided a revised statement this evening with the hope of securing the release of his passport as soon as possible.
Working in collaboration with the U.S. Consulate in Rio, we have coordinated the athletes’ cooperation with local authorities and ensured their safety throughout the process, but we have not seen the full statements provided by Bentz and Conger.
However, we understand that they describe the events that many have seen on surveillance video made publicly available today. As we understand it, the four athletes (Bentz, Conger, Feigen and Ryan Lochte) left France House early in the morning of August 14 in a taxi headed to the Olympic Village. They stopped at a gas station to use the restroom, where one of the athletes committed an act of vandalism. An argument ensued between the athletes and two armed gas station security staff, who displayed their weapons, ordered the athletes from their vehicle and demanded the athletes provide a monetary payment. Once the security officials received money from the athletes, the athletes were allowed to leave.
The behavior of these athletes is not acceptable, nor does it represent the values of Team USA or the conduct of the vast majority of its members. We will further review the matter, and any potential consequences for the athletes, when we return to the United States.
On behalf of the United States Olympic Committee, we apologize to our hosts in Rio and the people of Brazil for this distracting ordeal in the midst of what should rightly be a celebration of excellence.
With three days remaining in the Olympic Games, our primary focus will remain on supporting the athletes who are still competing and celebrating the achievements of those who have finished.”
