lochtegate

Gunnar Bentz Gives a Statement on the U.S. Swim Team’s Rio Robbery, and Let’s Just Say Ryan Lochte Does Not Come Off Great

Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

The ever-shifting kaleidoscope of specific details, deceptions, and misunderstandings surrounding the U.S. swim team’s alleged Rio robbery makes it hard to answer the most pressing question of all: how much of this entire story is just Ryan Lochte being an absolute bonehead? According to a new statement released by Lochte’s fellow Olympian Gunnar Bentz, who was detained in Rio Wednesday night, the answer seems to be “Some, but by no means all.” According to the swimmer, who stresses that he was never under arrest nor did he make any false statements about the incident, Ryan Lochte allegedly “pulled to the ground a framed metal advertisement that was loosely anchored to the brick wall” at the gas station where the foursome had stopped to use the restroom. Bentz says he did not witness anyone breaking or otherwise damaging a bathroom door. The group subsequently returned to their taxi, only to have a pair of armed security guards demand they exit the vehicle. The guards drew their guns and told Lochte and his teammates to sit on a sidewalk. Says Bentz, “Again, I cannot speak to his actions, but Ryan stood up and began to yell at the guards. After Jack and I both tugged at him in an attempt to get him to sit back down, Ryan and the security guards had a heated verbal exchange, but no physical contact was made.” With interpreting help from a bilingual bystander, the guards allowed the Olympians to leave after they shelled out approximately $70. Bentz is confident that a full, unedited, or unobscured security video would substantiate his story — a story that, if true, would definitely bump Glen Powell up the “Who should play Ryan Lochte in the Rio robbery movie?” list.

Gunnar Bentz Gives a Statement on LochteGate