Matt Lauer scored his second interview with Ryan Lochte about his tumultuous last night in Rio, and given another pass at the story, Lochte was more forthcoming this time. Last week, Lochte told Lauer that he and his teammates were victims. In the clips that aired last night and this morning across the NBC family of networks, Lauer took Lochte to task for throwing Rio under the bus to cover up “some dumb behavior.” (That dumb behavior was peeing everywhere except the bathroom, and damaging a metal sign, and also possibly going nuts and damaging the bathroom they did not pee in.)
Lochte was contrite and apologized to everyone involved, including the people of Brazil and Rio. He even got a little emotional talking about how his teammates were stuck in Rio while he was sitting comfortably at home thousands of miles away from the heat he caused. He took full responsibility for everything, call himself immature, childish, and intoxicated, while also saying he was embarrassed for himself, his family, and the U.S. swimming team.
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He acknowledged that he turned the situation into an uncontrollable international disaster by “over exaggerating the story,” and then went on TV with Billy Bush—apparently still drunk from the night before—and doubled-down on it. I’d pause here to mention that where he really messed up was telling a fib to his mother, who then passed it along to the press, but we’re well past that now.
And thus ends the single greatest, and most unnecessary, Sports ‘Gate we’ve ever witnessed: teary-eyed and in nondescript parlor with Matt Lauer.
[NBC]
