The Real Story Behind The Olympic Swimmer Robbery

We have been reporting (as information has surfaced) on the armed robbery of U.S. swimmers Ryan Lochte, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, and Jimmy Feigen. First, the four swimmers announced that they had been robbed while taking a taxi back to the athlete's village after a party. They claimed that they were stopped by people dressed as police officers and held at gunpoint and asked for their money. Then the claim was changed to them being stopped while at a gas station. Now, the truth has surfaced.

The four swimmers were confronted by people dressed as police officers. They were security guards. The swimmers had apparently vandalized the gas station bathroom when security officers approached them about the matter. There were no guns involved in the incident, but instead, the swimmers were forced to pay for their damages made to the bathroom and then left peaceably. No robbery was even committed. Unlucky for the swimmers, the altercation was captured on one of the gas station security cameras.

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I'm outraged by the poor name that these four athletes have cast over the American title. Not only did the four swimmers lie and falsely accuse a nation of a crime that was never committed but they stole press times from other athletes who actually deserved the praise. Instead of reading about victories and gold medals that were won by American athletes we were forced to focus on a “crime” that was never even committed. Instead, the crime was done by the American athletes who then lied to cover up their own mess.

That is not what we as Americans should be promoting.

It seems however that Ryan Lochte is the mastermind behind the lie. He was the one that came forward with the story, the other swimmers have remained silent the majority of this story. Lochte apologized for his behavior and the other swimmers were let go and got on planes to head back to America yesterday.

We are in the middle of a presidential election that already has other countries questioning our strength and allegiance as a nation. The last thing we need is some young athletes tainting our image even more with lies.

SEE RELATED: Rio Is Punishing American Olympians For Being Victims