Olympic swimmer, Jack Conger has issued a press release apologizing for the Rio de Janeiro controversy that’s making headlines.
The 21-year old swimmer is back in the United States after a hectic week in Rio de Janeiro; Conger went home with a gold medal after the U.S team won the 4x200m freestyle competition. Conger who is currently studying at the University of Texas was involved in a controversial event during his time in Rio de Janeiro. The swimmer was an alleged victim of a robbery along with teammates Ryan Lochte, Jimmy Feigen, and Gunnar Bentz, but local police reports denied these allegations and showed a different side of the coin.
During the 2016 Olympics, many teams, and athletes have been a victim of the insecurity wave in Brazil; Suffering from gunpoint robberies in the middle of Rio’s streets and facing armed men.
However, this was not the case for Conger or his fellow teammates, the group of U.S swimmers celebrated a night out in Rio de Janeiro and ended damaging a gas station’s bathroom, urinating in public and confronting the city’s police.
The incident has gained a lot of media coverage, and the group of friends has received a lot of criticism for lying about the situation and for their behavior. Conger, who’s being treated as an eye-witness of the events, has issued a statement apologizing and explaining his involvement.
“I deeply regret the trouble and embarrassment this event has brought to the people of Brazil and Rio de Janeiro and the distraction it has caused from the achievements of my fellow Olympians,” said Conger in the press release.
Controversial ‘robbery’.
Media coverage is focused on the ‘party night’ were Ryan Lochte and his teammates suffered an alleged robbery on the city’s streets. The swimmer told the press last week, the group of friend’s stopped at a gas station after a night out when criminals dressed as police officers pointed guns and took their belongings.
Lochte discussed the event with reporters and claimed the criminals had taken some of their belongings but left them with their credentials and phones. Local police performed a follow-up investigation after Lochte’s statements.
The teammates made headlines again when security footage belonging to the gas station, showed the group of friends in a confrontation with security officers on the location. According to police statements, there’s video proof of the swimmers urinating in public and damaging the property.
The event has now gone viral, and Lochte is facing an investigation for lying about a crime and damaging public property, swimmer Jimmy Feigen had to pay a fee to leave the country. Meanwhile, Conger and Bentz missed their flight home to provide statements about their involvement in the events.
“Let me begin by emphasizing that I have been completely truthful in my statements throw out this unfortunate situation, including the information I provided to US officials,” said Conger in his press release.
In his statement, Conger admits to urinating in public and ensures Lochte damaged a poster in the gas station’s bathroom what led the team to confront security at the station.
The swimmer apologized for his behavior and thanked the host country for their hospitality during his time in the Olympics.
After the events had gone viral, all of the swimmers apologized several times on their social media profiles and maintained the public informed about their collaboration with local police investigations.
Swimmer Ryan Lochte apologized for his false statements on his Twitter account by writing “I want to apologize for not being more careful and candid in how I described the events of that early morning,”
“This has been an unsettling, humbling and frightening experience… Again, I want to express my appreciation to Brazil and Rio de Janeiro,” wrote Conger in the statement.
The United States Olympic Committee (USOC), released a statement following the events were they ensured the athlete’s behavior was unacceptable and didn’t met the values of Team USA and doesn’t represent the rest of the team’s conduct.
Lochte is currently facing the loss of public contracts with big brands such as Speedo, Ralph Lauren, Gatorade and many others who are evaluating the situation. Preliminary information states the swimmer might lose millions of dollars due to the events outcomes.
Source: PR Newswire