Welp.
Ryan Lochte and his United States Olympic swim team have some explaining to do with reports surfacing Thursday that there might be a small hole or two in their story about supposedly getting mugged in Rio de Janeiro.
Lochte and three of his teammates claimed they were robbed at gunpoint early Sunday morning, but those claims were investigated by local police, who haven’t found any evidence to support the accounts, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.
Things got even weirder Thursday, when ABC reported, citing “Brazil sources,” that Lochte and his teammates fabricated the story. Not only that, there’s footage of them fighting with a security guard at a gas station.
#BREAKING Brazilian authorities tell @ABC video shows "US swimmer" "breaking down" gas station restroom door "fighting" w/ security guard
— Matt Gutman (@mattgutmanABC) August 18, 2016
#BREAKING Brazil sources: #RyanLochte + 3 swimmers fabricated robbery story. Video shows swimmer "fighting" w/security at gas station @GMA
— Matt Gutman (@mattgutmanABC) August 18, 2016
As you might expect, alcohol appears to be a factor in this whole charade.
Authorities: Lochte & teammates were so drunk, they couldn't give accurate description of robbers or say how many. @mattgutmanABC @gma
— T.J. Holmes (@tjholmes) August 18, 2016
Lochte is no longer in Rio, returning the United States earlier this week. The same can’t be said for two of his teammates, however, as authorities removed Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz from a plane as they were preparing to return to America. That came just hours after a judge called for the passports of those three and Jimmy Feigen to be seized.
Thumbnail photo via Peter Casey/USA TODAY Sports Images