Ryan Lochte apologizes — but not for lying about robbery

Two days after Brazilian authorities tried to prevent Ryan Lochte and other U.S. Olympic swimmers from leaving the country over a fabricated robbery story, Lochte has publicly responded.

Lochte and another swimmer said on Sunday that they were robbed at gunpoint, but a video revealed the four men actually broke down a gas station bathroom door while drunk and a security guard with a gun demanded they pay for it. The swimmers did reportedly pay the guard after a bystander translated between the swimmers and the security guard.

Lochte, 32, was already back in the U.S. when the story began to unravel. He tweeted a statement Friday morning saying he wanted to apologize for his behavior, but he doesn’t admit to lying about the incident.

“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,” Lochte wrote.

Lochte originally said on Sunday after the incident that the four swimmers were in a car when they were pulled over by armed robbers pretending to be police officers. Lochte said the robbers ordered everyone out of the vehicle and onto the ground and Lochte refused, saying they hadn’t done anything wrong. He then said the robber cocked the gun and held it to his head, so Lochte got onto the ground.

Brazilian authorities announced Wednesday that they intended to seize the passports of the swimmers, which also included James Feigen, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, so they could talk to them further about the incident, saying there was evidence Feigen and Lochte had lied. Bentz and Conger did not give statements after the incident but authorities wanted them to stay in the country to testify.

Two of the other swimmers, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, were on their way home Friday after being held in the country to testify. Feigen reportedly made a deal with a Brazil judge to pay $10,800 to a charity and be allowed to leave the country later Friday, his lawyer said.

Law enforcement in Brazil are considering charges of falsely reporting a crime and destruction of property against the swimmers, both of which can carry up to six months in jail or a fine.

Lochte said he waited to issue the statement until “it was confirmed that the legal situation was addressed and it was clear that my teammates would be arriving home safely.”

This story was originally published August 19, 2016 at 10:32 AM with the headline "Ryan Lochte apologizes — but not for lying about robbery."