Will anybody hold Ryan Lochte accountable for his bizarre decision-making?
As it turns out, Ryan Lochte's incredibly Ryan Lochte (adjective) story about being held at gunpoint -- to which he responded, "Whatever." -- is, best case scenario, fabricated. Worst case scenario? An international crime.
What started as a concerning but funny-because-Lochte viral news story is becoming increasingly concerning by the second. A judge ordered Lochte and his involved teammates to stay in Brazil -- but not before Lochte skipped the country solo. The other swimmers remain in Rio, in conversation with authorities, with their legal statuses still unknown.
While Michael Phelps has dominated the USA Swimming conversation for the entire millennium -- as the epitome of dedication and success -- Lochte has always been the face of a different American athlete. While Phelps graced Wheaties boxes, Lochte starred in reality shows. If the Olympics were a high school, Phelps is the All-American while Lochte is the dumb jock.
And, to this point, that's worked for the 32-year-old. Everybody has their own brand, and he's capitalized on his -- while social media has, for the most part, eaten it up.
SEE MORE: Everything you need to know about the Summer Olympics
But in Rio, it seems that stupid turned to dangerous. Not even because of what happened on the raw security footage at the gas station -- but what happened after. Getting caught up in drunken nonsense while essentially on a vacation with your peers is far from unheard of. But after such a run-in with foreign police, one wouldn't expect someone of Lochte's fame to go public with the story at all -- let alone fabricate into a trendy news story.
But in doing exactly that, Lochte put not only himself at risk, but also his teammates -- which perhaps he sensed, given his expedited return trip to the States. While he's in the comfort of his own home, focused on changing his hair color back to normal, Jack Conger, Jimmy Feigen and Gunnar Bentz remain in Rio, dealing with their repercussions.
At some point, there should be a shift in tone when a seemingly harmless, fun-loving dude-bro does something dangerous and potentially harmful. But as the Jeahs keep rolling in, that shift may never come.
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