ABC News(NEW YORK) — Ryan Lochte is expected to be suspended for 10 months and will have to miss the 2017 World Swimming Championships, sources tell ABC News contributor Christine Brennan.
The expected suspension comes after the 12-time Olympic medalist recently apologized for telling an “over-exaggreated” story about being held up at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the Summer Olympic games last month.
Lochte had initially called the incident a robbery, saying that a stranger pointed a gun at him and demanded money from him and his teammates — Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen — at a gas station.
However, Brazilian police said that Lochte’s story was a fabrication and that the Olympians were not robbed. The police alleged that the swimmers vandalized a bathroom at the gas station and were confronted by armed security guards who requested money for the damage.
Last month, the U.S. Olympic Committee said it was disappointed and pledged to further examine the matter.
“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,” it said.
Amid the scandal, Lochte was dropped by four sponsors, including Ralph Lauren and Speedo.
Lochte later apologized for his behavior in a statement, saying that he was traumatized by being out in a foreign country with a language barrier and having a stranger point a gun at him and demand money.
The swimmer told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that the weeks after the Rio incident were the “lowest point of my life.”
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