Georgia's Gunnar Bentz leaves Rio as original Olympic robbery story proved false
Gunnar Bentz is heading home.
After being detained for questioning over a robbery accusation made by two of his U.S. Olympic teammates, Bentz was allowed to return home to the U.S.
Bentz spent the day answering questions along with teammate Jack Conger after they were removed from an airplane set to depart for the U.S. on Wednesday.
This became an international story on Sunday, when U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte, after initially denying anything occurred, told NBC's Billy Bush that he and three others were pulled over in a taxi and robbed of their cash and wallets. Lochte also said that after initially not cooperating, a gun was pointed to his head.
Jimmy Feigen, the fourth swimmer involved, gave a statement that contradicted Lochte's once police were involved, which caused Rio de Janeiro authorities to question what actually happened. Before Lochte could be held for questioning, he was already stateside.
Once a discrepancy was realized, Locthe gave NBC's Matt Lauer a follow-up phone interview and changed some of the details of the original story.
Since, reports have indicated at least one of the four swimmers broke a gas station bathroom door and vandalized the inside of it. Security guards did pull out guns and demanded payment for the damage done, which is likely where Lochte's robbery claim stems from.
Bentz and Conger were forced to stay an extra day, and Feigen has also reportedly been cooperating, although he has yet to receive his passport back.
U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun issued a lengthy statement on what they now know about the incident.
"Two U.S. Olympic swimmers (Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger) have given statements to local authorities today regarding the incident first reported on Sunday, August 14, 2016," the statement reads. "Their passports have been released and they recently departed Rio.
"After providing a statement earlier in the week, a third (James Feigen) provided a revised statement this evening with the hope of securing the release of his passport as soon as possible.
"Working in collaboration with the U.S. Consulate in Rio, we have coordinated the athletes’ cooperation with local authorities and ensured their safety throughout the process, but we have not seen the full statements provided by Bentz and Conger.
"However, we understand that they describe the events that many have seen on surveillance video made publicly available today. As we understand it, the four athletes (Bentz, Conger, Feigen and Ryan Lochte) left France House early in the morning of August 14 in a taxi headed to the Olympic Village.
"They stopped at a gas station to use the restroom, where one of the athletes committed an act of vandalism. An argument ensued between the athletes and two armed gas station security staff, who displayed their weapons, ordered the athletes from their vehicle and demanded the athletes provide a monetary payment. Once the security officials received money from the athletes, the athletes were allowed to leave.
"The behavior of these athletes is not acceptable, nor does it represent the values of Team USA or the conduct of the vast majority of its members. We will further review the matter, and any potential consequences for the athletes, when we return to the United States.
"On behalf of the United States Olympic Committee, we apologize to our hosts in Rio and the people of Brazil for this distracting ordeal in the midst of what should rightly be a celebration of excellence.
"With three days remaining in the Olympic Games, our primary focus will remain on supporting the athletes who are still competing and celebrating the achievements of those who have finished."
This story was originally published August 18, 2016 at 11:26 PM with the headline "Georgia's Gunnar Bentz leaves Rio as original Olympic robbery story proved false."