I have to praise USA Today for real reporting on this story, others just parroted the ‘ugly American’ story without questioning. Unfortunately many in the media and the USOC don’t seem to care about the truth.
Via USA Today:
Twelve-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte has been suspended for 10 months for the gas station incident that became an embarrassment during the Rio Olympics, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday.
The punishment was handed down by both the International Olympic Committee, the United States Olympic Committee and USA Swimming.
The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the decision has not been announced publicly, said Lochte’s suspension is longer than that of the other three U.S. swimmers he was with at the gas station that night.
Lochte will also be banned from the 2017 world championship meet, which will be held in Budapest next July.
TMZ.com was the first to report the length of the suspension.
The four swimmers were involved in the incident after a night of partying following the end of the Olympic swimming competition. Lochte’s mother, Ileana Lochte, told USA TODAY Sports the following morning that her son had been robbed. Fox Australia first reported the incident, which turned into a week-long news cycle that saw Lochte revise his account of what happened and acknowledge he exaggerated some details. But he stood by his story that he and his teammates were detained at gunpoint and forced to pay money so they could leave.