By NAN Sport Editor
News Americas, RIO, Brazil, Fri. Aug. 19, 2016: As Brazilian police yesterday dubbed US Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte’s claim of robbery essentially a fib, the authorities also had some words of wisdom for the oat-meal haired North Carolina born athlete.
Its advise Lochte’s mama should also give him – say sorry to the people of Rio.
The Brazil police on Thursday contradicted Lochte’s account that he was robbed at gun point last weekend. “No robbery was committed against these athletes,” Fernando Veloso, chief of the Rio de Janeiro police investigative division, said during a news conference Thursday afternoon. “They were not victims of the crimes they claimed.”
The Brazil cops statement comes after their questioned Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, two other Team USA swimmers who were with Lochte early Sunday morning, August 14, 2016. Lochte is already back in the US.
According to Veloso, one of the two confirmed to investigators that Lochte’s account had not been altogether true. The Civil Police chief, said Lochte and the others owed Cariocas — the local term for Rio de Janeiro natives — an apology for having “stained” the city “for a fantasy.”
No charges have been filed against the swimmers and the potential charges of falsely reporting a crime and damage to property would likely not preclude the swimmers from leaving the country — but the incident has set off a firestorm locally.
Lochte initially claimed to US media that he and the other swimmers, including Jimmy Feigen, were stopped by men pretending to be a police officer. He said the cop demanded the four swimmers hand over their money and wallets and pressed a gun to his forehead when he initially refused. The shocking story made global headlines, underscoring the widespread perception that the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics have been beset with problems of crime and violence.
