I played on the international tennis circuit for seven years. Representing the United States around the world was by far the greatest honor of my professional sports career. Whenever we would travel to a foreign country for a competition, two things were made extremely clear: 1) You are a guest in this country, and you show the utmost respect for the host nation. 2) Your actions off the court are just as important as your actions on the court, because you are always representing the United States.
With the events in Rio that unfolded last week, where four members of the U.S. swim team were not the victims of a robbery as they first reported, but vandalized a gas station bathroom, I'm angered and dismayed like the rest of us.
In the past 30 years, I've worked as a psychological performance coach to top athletes, and I can tell you that the pressures that come with Olympic glory and fame are NO excuse for what these swimmers did. Yes, professional athletes at the Olympic level are under the immense stress of competing against the world's best athletes and having an entire nation counting on them to win. However, this pressure would not push an athlete to the breaking point of not being able to distinguish right from wrong.
Many athletes are sent away from their families at a very young age. They eat, drink and sleep training. With all the fame and celebrity status that many athletes gain, it's nowhere nearly as glamorous as you might think. These athletes face the utmost in physical and mental challenges on a daily basis. Still, these challenges will not turn a good person into a vandal.
Mario Andrada, a spokesman for the Rio Olympics organizing committee, said, "No apologies from the athletes are needed. We need to understand that these kids were trying to have fun. Let's give these kids a break. Sometimes you take actions that you later regret." This is absurd. These aren't kids. Ryan Lochte is 32 years old. He's a grown man and he needs to be held accountable for what he did.
The Olympics aren't only about winning or losing. There are so many lessons we can all learn from the spirit of the games. What kind of lesson are we teaching if they did, in fact, commit this crime and lied about it, and then we let them off with no repercussions? If these "kids" are found guilty, they deserve to be punished and should be forced to return their medals and apologize to the country of Brazil.
Meanwhile, Scott Blackmun, CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee, didn't do enough when he issued this statement: "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."
That's a start, but actions speak louder than words. If the U.S. Olympic Committee was truly sorry, it would force Ryan Lochte, James Feigen, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger to return to Rio and do community service, or work in the gas station they allegedly vandalized. That would be more in line with the true spirit of the Olympics.
In the meantime, no matter how many gold medals Ryan Lochte and his teammates have won, they are a disgrace to the United States and to all the men and women who work so hard to be able to represent their countries.