Ryan Lochte is talking to Matt Lauer in his first interview following the scandal surrounding his armed robbery claim during the Rio Olympics.
Portions of the interview will air tonight, Saturday, August 20, during NBC’s primetime Olympic coverage. A preview will air beforehand on NBC Nightly News, and more of the interview will air Monday, August 22 on Today.
Lochte issued an apology yesterday for “not being more careful and candid” in his recounting of a weekend incident in which he claims to have been robbed at gunpoint in Rio early Sunday morning.
His apology came a day after Rio’s chief of civil police Fernando Velosa told reporters at a news conference that there was no robbery and Lochte’s story was a complete fabrication.
It all erupted nearly a week ago, when Lochte told NBC News’ Billy Bush that a man posing as a police officer pulled out a gun and put it to Lochte’s forehead. He later said only that the gun was pointed at him. Lochte has since hired public relations expert Matthew Hiltzik.
Gunnar Bentz, one of three other U.S. swimmers who were with Lochte at the time of the incident, yesterday released a statement of his account of what happened, backing Rio police’s version of the events.
