Swimmer Ryan Lochte came to New York City for his first post-Olympics interview Saturday — his bleached hair dyed back to normal, his tail between his legs and his reputation-rehabilitation efforts in full swing.
In an interview with the “Today” show’s Matt Lauer, Lochte performed the public-relations equivalent of a 1,500-meter backpaddle.
He insisted he was taking “full responsibility” for his actions while clinging to his bizarre story of being robbed by men posing as police while out with three teammates in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the Olympics last week.
“It’s how you want to make it look like,” he said when asked point blank if he had lied.
WATCH: @RyanLochte calls his behavior in Rio ‘immature’ in @NBCNews exclusive. pic.twitter.com/ISpXsrL6bP
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) August 20, 2016
“Whether you call it a robbery, whether you call it extortion or us paying just for the damages,” he waffled. “We don’t know. All we know is there was a gun pointed in our direction and we were demanded to give money.”
After the alleged robbery, Lochte returned to his Charlotte, NC, home with his girlfriend, former Playboy model Kayla Rae Reid.
The interview, to be aired in its entirety Monday, came a week after Lochte told cops a tale of Olympic proportions to cover up his and three teammates’ vandalism of a Rio gas station.
Multiple eyewitnesses contradicted Lochte’s story earlier Saturday, revealing that the four swimmers willingly gave their cash to the gas station’s manager to keep the police at bay. The incident arose after Lochte pulled a metal advertisement off of the gas station’s building, swimmer Gunnar Benz revealed Friday evening.
A security guard at the station told Brazil’s O Globo TV that he and another guard drew their weapons on the angry, edgy swimmers.
“I was worried that they were going to assault me because they were very worked up,” the guard remembered. “I don’t know if they were on drugs. I can’t tell you that. But they were in such a way that they seemed altered and they couldn’t even speak straight.”
Ultimately, the men handed over $20 and 100 Brazilian reals, together worth just over $50.
Additional reporting by David K. Li