Lochte on Twitter: I'm Sorry for Not Being 'Candid'

Swimmer says he should've handled himself better after 'traumatic' experience
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 19, 2016 10:23 AM CDT
Lochte on Twitter: I'm Sorry for Not Being 'Candid'
Ryan Lochte says he's sorry for not being "more careful and candid" about what happened in Rio.   (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Is Ryan Lochte trying to wrest back control of Lochte-Gate? USA Today points out the US swimmer posted a lengthy mea culpa—though TMZ labels it nothing more than a doubling down—on social media Friday morning. In it, he says he's sorry to "my teammates, my fans, my fellow competitors, my sponsors, and the hosts of this great event" for his behavior in Rio over the weekend, though he doesn't document specifically what that behavior was. He apologizes "for not being more careful and candid" about what transpired and the part he played in "taking the focus away from the many athletes fulfilling their dreams" at the Olympics.

With no mention of the drunken gas-station vandalism that's being alleged, Lochte simply wrote, "It's traumatic to be out late with your friends in a foreign country—with a language barrier—and have a stranger point a gun at you and demand money to let you leave," adding that even in those circumstances, he should've a) "been much more responsible in how I handled myself," and b) avoided the situation entirely. As for why it took him so long to address the issue more fully, he notes he had to make sure teammates Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, and James Feigen were set to arrive back in the US safe and sound (though Feigen still remains in Brazil, per ABC News) and that all legal matters had been taken care of. (More Ryan Lochte stories.)

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