By condemning their own athletes for a “lapse in judgement,” and apologising to the Olympic host for the “distracting ordeal,” it appears both USA Swimming and the US Olympic Committee are going along with Rio police’s assertion that swimmer Ryan Lochte gave a false account of events on Sunday evening, when he claimed to have been robbed at a gas station. Police and the station’s owner said the Americans were ordered out from their vehicle to pay for damage to an advertising sign. Following USA Swimming’s statement, we asked Brazilians what they thought of the controversy.
“I feel sad about it. Because Ryan Lochte’s a great swimmer, and when violent cases happen to sports figures, people feel unsafe in the city. It’s true Rio isn’t the safest place to live, but to make up a story about robbery is unethical.”
Cesar Campos, Rio de Janeiro
“I feel very offended by the swimmers’ actions. They’ve tried to make use of some of the city’s stereotypes to hide the utter stupidity of their actions. And they did so reinforcing also sad stereotypes of United States citizens such as arrogance and disdain. It was very disrespectful. We are aware of the violence problems in Brazil, and to have the worldwide media report on how famous athletes were victims in a time when peace and happiness should be prevaling is obviously shameful.”
André Siqueira, Rio de Janeiro
“It was blown out of proportion. Many Brazilians, including authorities, treated this case as a serious diplomatic incident, when it was merely a case of bad behaviour. Rio’s police authorities dedicated themselves to solve this case in a way I’ve never seen before. A lot of people applauded the swimmers’ extraction from the plane as if Brazil had won a gold medal in the Games. That embarrassed me. Anti-americanism is strong in part of the Brazilian population. That says a lot about Brazilian self-esteem.”
Antonio Reis, São Paulo
“It’s always unfortunate when someone tries to exploit a situation for personal gain. Rio and Brazil as a whole face violence issues, that is a fact widely know. By lying the swimmers made light of all the people who have suffered through this, who have lost loved ones in real robbery situations. I guess they just didn’t count on a developing country having security cameras or investigative police.”
Helene Piccoli, Porto Alegre
“I feel irate. To have someone with as much visibility as these guys make Brazil look even worse, just to cover up their immaturity and lack of respect for others, is outrageous. But it’s important to point out that this happened not because he’s American, but because he’s human. Any person from any nationality could’ve done this.”
Carla, São Paulo
“After all the misbelief and criticism about the Olympics being held in Brazil, our country made an enormous effort to make a great event, even though this meant sacrificing other much needed priorities. Yes, we have problems but we do have laws, institutions that work and people that want to be proud of something. While we were here making a huge effort for everything to go right, the only thing the world could see is was how awful and dangerous Brazil is. It would be really nice if the swimmers apologised.”
Vanessa Pollazzon, Brasilia
“I feel the whole Western media bears responsibility for this. The US, European, and Australian media have been fanning the flames of Rio scepticism for months. But the games have turned out fine. If it weren’t for the atmosphere of anti-Brazil hysteria created by the media, maybe the swimmers would have thought twice about inventing this story. It was the same with the 2014 World Cup and the 2010 Cup in South Africa. These events also passed without incident but were nonetheless preceded by months of media fury.”
Rafael Santos, Recife
“I think this event reflects the opinion the world has of Brazil. This opinion was created because of the problems reported about corruption, Olympic buildings not being ready on time and violence in cities. A bad image of Brazil has been created for months and people think it’s possible to get away with anything. Brazil have great people and we have received the world with care and made everything possible for the Olympics to be a good event. We’ll have to deal with the country’s problems long after the tourists and athletes have departed. All we wanted and needed was respect.”
Nilberto Escoralique, São Paulo
