Team USA swimmer Ryan Lochte recently caused controversy after falsely claiming that he and a few of his fellow swimmers were held up at gunpoint and robbed at a gas station in Rio de Janeiro.
Lochte’s mea culpa tour has begun. Last Friday, he released a lengthy apology. On Sunday, he discussed his mistakes with Matt Lauer.
“I’m just really sorry,” Lochte told Lauer. “I’m embarrassed for myself, my family, those guys, USA swimming, the Olympic games, everyone watching. I was immature and I made a stupid mistake. I’m human, I made a mistake, and I definitely learned from this.”
However, it turns out that not everybody thinks his apology is enough, and travellers at Galeão International Airport in Rio have been expressing their remorse on a board the airport installed for people leaving the city to sign.
Wall at Rio airport. Thinking some Chicago folks have passed it and left a mark… pic.twitter.com/lotVIWWEmN
— Helene Elliott (@helenenothelen) August 22, 2016
As first spotted by BuzzFeed, passengers are signing the board to apologise on Lochte’s behalf.
On the “Leave a special message to Rio” wall at airport. pic.twitter.com/aXSb3rgTwy
— Sally Jenkins (@sallyjenx) August 21, 2016
Marker board at Rio airport w/msgs from people leaving after #Olympics. “Sorry about Lochte”https://t.co/z6cPlk0ecO pic.twitter.com/0Qn59A3Leb
— Ney Hayashi (@neyhayashi) August 21, 2016
Two different people wrote “Sorry About Ryan Lochte.” Meanwhile, someone else wrote “Ryan Lochte — SOB.”
Meanwhile, there doesn’t seem to be much good news ahead for Lochte. Speedo announced that they were ending their partnership with the swimmer, saying that they “cannot condone” his behaviour.
We have reached out to a representative at the airport and will update this post when we hear back.
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