Ryan Lochte’s lawyer has confirmed his client is seeking treatment for alcohol addiction.
Lochte, a six-time Olympic swimming champion, was involved in an incident at a California hotel last week. Lochte allegedly tried to kick his hotel room door down and police were called. No arrests were made.
“Ryan has been battling alcohol addiction for many years and unfortunately it has become a destructive pattern for him,” Ostrow told TMZ on Monday. “He has acknowledged that he needs professional assistance to overcome his problem and will be getting help immediately.
“Ryan knows that conquering this disease now is a must for him to avoid making future poor decisions, to be the best husband and father he can be, and if he wants to achieve his goal to return to dominance in the pool in his fifth Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.”
The 34-year-old was banned for 14 months in July for receiving an intravenous infusion without a therapeutic use exemption. Lochte said the violation was unintentional but accepted the ban. The ban is retroactive to 24 May, and will run through June 2019.
Lochte previously served a 10-month ban and was made to forfeit $100,000 in bonus money that went with his gold medal at the 2016 Olympics for his role in vandalizing a gas station in Brazil with three other US swimmers during a drunken night out at the Rio Games.
