Ryan Lochte Finally Released A Statement That Is Kinda, Sorta An Apology

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Amidst all the swirling controversy and trickles of information about what really happened to Ryan Lochte and three swim teammates early Sunday morning in Rio de Janeiro, the man at the center of it all remained silent. Now that we know that Lochte made up details of his initial story to the police to cover up his and his friends’ disruptive actions at a gas station, Lochte has been left with no choice but to come clean — kind of:

Here are the key passages from Lochte’s statement:

I want to apologize for my behavior last weekend — for not being more careful and more candid in how I described the events of that early morning and for my role in taking the focus away from the many athletes fulfilling their dreams of participating in the Olympics. I waited to share these thoughts until it was confirmed that the legal situation was addressed and it was clear that my teammates would be arriving home safely.

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 behavior of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself, and for that I am sorry…

From all that PR-couched language comes Lochte admitting that he fabricated certain elements of his story (without explaining why) while insisting that he indeed did have a gun pointed at him while money was demanded. Going forward, it appears that will be the official version of the story.

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