US swimmer Ryan Lochte may have just found himself in some hot water.
In what's certainly the strangest story to emerge from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Lochte claimed he and three of his teammates were robbed at gunpoint by thieves who initially posed as police officers.
Yesterday, several media outlets reported that Lochte may be lying about the incident in an effort to cover up violent and destructive behavior by himself and his teammates.
The reports surfaced in response to Brazilian authorities' efforts to prevent Lochte and the other three swimmers - Jimmy Feigen, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz - from returning to the States while the investigation into the matter was ongoing.
Believing they had sufficient reason to suspect that Lochte and company had lied about the robbery, police arrived at Rio's Olympic Village with the intention of seizing the swimmers' passports.
Lochte, however, had already returned to the States.
Now, his three teammates - two of whom were removed from their flight home moments before the plane was scheduled to take off - are being detained by Brazilian officials.
And it looks as though they've offered testimony that could spell big trouble for all four athletes.
The Associated Press is reporting that Conger and Bentz have confirmed that the story Lochte told reporters on Sunday was fabricated.
The swimmer reportedly made up the robbery lie in order to cover up a fight with a gas station security guard that took place after the guard attempted to prevent the men from urinating on a building and destroying property.
Needless to say, the story doesn't do much for the reputation of the US men's swim team.
As for what sort of legal consequences it may carry for Lochte and company, that remains to be seen.
We'll have further updates on this increasingly bizarre story as more information becomes available.
