Photo Credit: Matt Hazlett/ Getty Images
One thing that I’ve always found interesting about huge sports media outlets is how much attention they’ll give any athlete who doesn’t deserve it. The most obvious example being former Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel, but lately, it has been Ryan Lochte. Since the news broke about the “supposed robbery“, the world has been going crazy with opinions. A google search of Lochte’s name will give you results about why he made it up, why he didn’t make up anything, why he deserves to be a part of the US Olympic Swim Team and why he should never get in a pool again.
The one thing that hasn’t been talked about much is why anyone cares. There were actual Olympic events going on, but instead of being focused on those athletes in the biggest moment of their lives, we had to hear about Lochte. There were Olympic athletes out there who wanted a chance to show the world what they had been working on for years and all everyone could keep talking about why/if/how Ryan Lochte did what he did. The story got blown out of proportion and showed how highly valued Ryan Locate’s bad decision making is over an actual serious and important issue.
During the Olympics, it was reported that Gabby Douglas was being bullied. Apparently, that story wasn’t as important as Lochte’s who became the center of the media universe. The hypocrisy is scary because the world would rather give Ryan Lochte an extra 15 minutes of fame than talk about a talented gymnast being mistreated.
I found it particularly troubling in this situation the lack of consequences. For now, all we know is Lochte is set to serve a 10-month suspension and forfeit $100,000. Lochte’s US Swimming teammate, Jimmy Feigen was kept in Rio and wasn’t released until he made a “donation”. Meanwhile, Lochte was sitting back in the US and later giving a half-assed apology in an interview with Matt Lauer.
The lack of consequences didn’t apply to Hope Solo. After losing to the Swedish Women’s soccer team, Solo made some inappropriate comments about the other team and overall having a sore loser mentality. Later, Solo would be suspended before having her Team USA contract terminated. While Lochte, who only has to serve a 10-month suspension, will spend his time off competing on Dancing With The Stars.
Let all of that sink in for a minute. Hope Solo made comments about the other team and was essentially banished from the team for life, or at least, for now. Ryan Lochte made up a fake story, lied to the police, issued one of the worst apologies ever, left his teammates high and dry while still actually refusing to admit that he lied.
No matter what happened or what will happen, this situation showed the inequality in sports at a much higher level because everyone was quick to bash female athletes while wanting to take a moment and learn the full story of a male athlete. We shouldn’t forget about the situation with Ryan Lochte because we should try to learn from it; that’s how athletes shouldn’t act, how punishments should not be handed out and what shouldn’t be focused on.
If nothing else, hopefully the 2020 Olympics will have a lot less Ryan Lochte and a lot more inspiring athletes.
