Ryan Lochte Insists Rio Robbery Happened: 'I Wouldn't Make Up A Story Like This'
Lochte told NBC's Matt Lauer that he "wouldn't make up a story like this, nor would the others." "He strongly denied that, said it's absolutely not the case: 'I wouldn't make up a story like this, nor would the others. As a matter of fact we all feel it makes us look bad. We're victims in this and we're happy that we're safe.'" The phone interview came after Lochte returned home to the United States while Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz were removed from a home-bound flight and are being questioned by Brazilian authorities. Brazilian judge Keyla Blank ordered heir passports seized after authorities claimed there were inconsistencies in their story. The judge says witnesses told them the swimmers were at a party till almost dawn although they claim they left around 4 am. The judge also said video showed the trio laughing and drunk -- not concerned -- as they returned to the Olympic village. "He went out of his way to say that he told them he was reachable, that he would cooperate, they could get to him through his agent or through his lawyer," Lauer told Bob Costas on Wednesday night. "He said the meeting with police was casual, it was friendly, it was vague, they didn't ask him a lot of questions. They did ask him what the gun looked like, what was taken from him. He seemed somewhat surprised by how few questions they asked him here, considering he just told them he was held up at gunpoint." "They seemed to support everything he said and at one point, he said to me they said, 'Thank you,' and they congratulated him on his performance here at the Games." One interesting change in Lochte's story has been that while the swimmer previously said one of the gunmen had put his gun to his forehead and cocked it, he now says that the gun was pointed "in his direction." Several outlets are reporting that Lochte wasn't robbed and instead a video shows the three were involved an altercation with a security guard at a gas station after leaving the party.
After accusations from Brazil, Ryan Lochte denies that he fabricated the story that he and three other US swimmers were robbed at gunpoint.
August 18, 2016 | |
