At some point in our lives, we have all told a lie. Some people lie more than others, and some lies are bigger than others. Whether you’re a kid lying about having your homework done or a world-class athlete, though, a lie is a lie.
When I first read the news headline, “Ryan Lochte and teammates robbed at gunpoint in Rio,” my reaction was, “Oh my goodness, that’s terrible!” I read several articles from different news outlets just to make sure I learned as much as possible about the incident. With all the recent violence going on in the world, I thought they were pretty lucky to make it out alive. It almost seemed like they were too lucky.
According to new developments, it turns out that Lochte and teammates Jack Conger, Jimmy Feigen and University of Georgia’s Gunnar Bentz were never robbed. A night of alcohol and poor decisions led to lie after lie.
Initially, Lochte told NBC that the taxi they were in was stopped by individuals posing as cops. He said that they were then forced to the ground and a gun was cocked and put to his forehead.
Following his interview with NBC he spoke out on Twitter, saying, “While it is true that my teammates and I were the victims of a robbery early Sunday morning, what is most important is that we are safe and unharmed.”
Lochte and his teammates wanted the world to believe they were victims, but they soon learned that what happens in dark always comes to light. While the swimmers were on their way home from a night of partying, they stopped at a gas station. According to reports, they broke a bathroom door, vandalized a sign and urinated outside of the gas station.
I’m not going to be a stickler and say that Olympic athletes shouldn’t have fun and be able to enjoy themselves because that’s unrealistic. But, I do believe that if you’re going to drink, at least do it responsibly.
Lochte and his teammates represented the U.S. exceptionally well in their swimming events, but they let us down in the character event.
During the Olympics, every outside athlete competing is a guest of that country. Just as you would respect the property and rules of a hotel, the same should be done while visiting the host country.
The most Lochte and his teammates would have probably had to do was pay a small fine for the damaged property. Instead, they’re having to dig themselves out of the biggest hole and apologize for not one, but two things. Apologize first for lying to police and the world, and second for their behavior at the gas station.
I believe people are more likely to forgive when they are initially told the truth. If they’re lied to and deceived, it’s much harder to gain back trust and respect for someone.
No, we can’t take away their gold medals and successes, nor do we want to. But as Olympic athletes, we just expect more from them.
There’s probably an insane amount of young swimmers who look up to the four athletes and want to be just like them. What do they say to their young admirers now?
When you’re in the spotlight, you have the opportunity to positively impact people’s lives. No one is perfect, but incidents like these are ones that could have easily been avoided by being responsible.
