Ryan Lochte Suspended 10 Months Following Rio Incident, Reports Say
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Swimmer Ryan Lochte has reportedly been suspended for the next 10 months following an incident as a Rio gas station during the Olympics last month.
According to USA Today and multiple other reports, the United States Olympic Committee, the International Olympics Committee and USA Swimming handed down the punishment to the 12-time Olympic medalist. CBS News has not been able to confirm the suspension from the USOC and USA Swimming. Lochte will be banned from the 2017 world championships in Budapest.
Lochte initially said that he and fellow swimmers Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz and Jimmy Feigen were robbed at gunpoint in a taxi by men with a police badge as they returned to the Olympic Village from a party on Aug. 15.
He admits he lied about having a gun held to his head the gas station.
Instead, Brazilian police said the men vandalized the bathroom of the gas station while intoxicated, were questioned by guards, then paid for the damage and left.
Lochte has been charged by Brazilian authorities for filing a false robbery report.
Lochte has since apologized for the incident, but said that the police account of what happened is absurd. He did admit that he destroyed a sign at the gas station, but said he "never even entered the bathroom."
"I don't know if I would consider it as robbery or extortion or us just paying a fine," he said. "Just paying up for the poster being ripped."
He also said he never actually filled out a police report.
Lochte said he has offered to reimburse Feigen for a nearly $11,000 fine Feigen paid to resolve legal issues and leave the country.
"I'm human. I made a mistake and that's just something I'm going to have to live with," he said.
Despite his current woes, Lochte was named as one of the contestants on the upcoming edition of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."
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