Mere hours after he hired Justin Bieber‘s former crisis manager to handle his current situation, silly goose Ryan Lochte has come forward with a statement officially attempting to apologise for his behaviour in Rio.
The American swimmer and multiple gold medal-winner made headlines earlier this week when his claims that that he and several of his teammates had been mugged at gunpoint in the city proved to be … slightly less than accurate.
Rather than the robbery scenario he initially described, an investigation revealed that Lochte and three teammates were caught vandalising a gas station bathroom after a night of partying, and were confronted by security guards.
In the statement, posted to Instagram, Lochte maintains his story that a stranger pointed a gun at him and demanded money to let him leave, but says that he should have been “more careful and candid” in the way he described the events.
Lochte apologised for taking the focus away from other athletes with his behaviour, adding: “this was a situation that could and should have been avoided. I accept responsibility for my role in this happening and have learned some valuable lessons.”
Of the night in question, he said: “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.”
“But regardless of the behaviour of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself, and for that I am sorry to my teammates, my fans, my fellow competitors, my sponsors and the hosts of this great event.”
You can read Lochte’s full apology below, via Instagram:
Source: NBC Olympics.
Photo: Ryan Lochte / Getty.
