The talented Mr. Lochte

KAS
Aug 20, 2016
4 min read

This blog post is a few days late but I was waiting for the story to develop before paying my two cents on Ryan Lochte's latest predicament. (My journalism training at work here, people.)

If you haven't been following the Rio Olympics, then you might not know that Ryan Lochte told reporters he and other Team USA swimmers were robbed at gunpoint by faux Brazillian police officers near a gas station. If you have been following the Rio Olympics, then you probably know Lochte made the story up.

Yup. He lied.

After winning a few Olympic medals, Lochte and other U.S. swimmers went out in celebration. They partied in Rio and on the way home stopped at a gas station, where the athletes tried to use the bathroom and upon finding it locked, barged in, damaged property and urinated publicly. Video surveillance footage shows the swimmers attempting to leave the gas station until stopped by security asking about the damages and demanding payment. The guys paid a small amount and left.

No loaded gun pointed to Lochte's head, no missing property. No traumatic robbery, no dangerous encounter in Brazil.

And that makes me furious.

To some it may seem like this is just a harmless lie or an embellished story that went too far with little consequences when all is said and done. Well, those people are wrong. So let me break it down for them.

The country of Brazil isn't known for being a place of wealth and luxury. Actually, it's known as being dirty, dangerous and impoverished. Brazil is a growing economic center in South America but it pales when compared to other first-world economies.

This is the first time a South American city has held the Summer Olympics and for that reason, the Brazilian government spent an estimated $4.6 billion funding the games, with total expenditures still rising. This will likely put them approximately 50% over the original budget.

And unfortunately less than two months before the games began, the state governor of Rio de Janeiro declared a state of emergency due to financial crisis. Despite being in the midst of an economic depression, Rio borrowed money and continued their commitments to putting on the Olympic games.

Hosting the Olympics almost never turns out to be profitable and for an already struggling area of South America, this was an extremely tough call. At the end of the day, it united Brazilians and put their culture at the forefront of a global event - a mission deemed "worth it" by the Brazilian government.

So it was a stretch but they rallied and pulled it off as a "pick me up" for the people of Brazil.

And when entitled, White, American men come into town, leaving the already struggling city in worse condition than when they found it, it's sure to bring about rage. Just like it angered the gas station security guards, working for a business owned by Rio locals - all of whom are just earning their livelihood. Privilege at its finest .

This event was ideally supposed to make the world celebrate Brazilian culture yet Americans have seemingly only feared the Zika virus, dominated competition and trashed Rio property on their way out of town. Then to make matters worse, some made up a story playing on South American stereotypes, American fears and Brazilian economic conditions.

Are you kidding me.

Just like you and I, these people earn their keep. Yes, some people do bad things. But no, certainly not everyone within a given demographic does. Stories like Lochte's lump the many good people in with those who perform bad acts, furthering stereotypes by generalizing Brazilians as violent and ruthless.

If this was a stereotyped tale about an American metropolis, would we feel more connected? If someone lied about a gunpoint robbery in Compton or Detroit, would we be more angered about the reliance on assumptions and stereotypes to spice up a story?

And what in the HELL did Ryan Lochte have to gain from this? He could have just pretended nothing happened at the gas station if his interests were solely in protecting his image, so I'm confused on what motivated Lochte to fabricate such an elaborate and violent story. Did he need sympathy and attention that bad?

Ugh. I'm absolutely disgusted. Now he won't be remembered for his athletic accomplishments, but rather for his lies and code of ethics. It's a shame but I don't feel sorry.

I understand people make mistakes. But when it's at the expense of innocent people, especially ones who have only welcomed Lochte into their home, it infuriates me. He took advantage of a language barrier and cultural differences, exploiting negative stereotypes for no reason other than stealing a few extra moments of the spotlight.

Y'all. I just can't get over it.

Now, I realize I'm coming down pretty hard on Lochte. This doesn't excuse the actions of the other swimmers but at least they confessed the truth. Lochte crafted the story and took off running.

Too make matters worse, Lochte's PR personnel crafted an apology statement. He delivered, although noticeably lacked emotion, empathy and an understanding of his wrongdoings. According to the 32-year-old swimmer, he's sorry for not being candid about his weekend activities.

That's what he's sorry for? Not being candid enough? Bruh.

"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," Lochte's apology states.

Oohhhh, now it all makes sense! The gifted professional athlete, with somewhere around 15 years of international competition under his belt, got scared partying with his friends overseas. Yup, that sounds about right. Because that's what all professional athletes do when they're scared by a language barrier. Get drunk, damage property and lie about it.

The talented Mr. Lochte isn't just gifted at swimming - he has talents in story writing as well. I just hope if he ever gets a book deal, his last chapter is an apology to all the people he's offended.

It'd be one long chapter.