"It was still hours after the incident happened. I was still intoxicated. I’m not making an excuse, I’m not doing that at all, and I shouldn’t have said that. I over-exaggerated that part, and the gun was drawn but not at my forehead. It was towards my general direction as you can see in the surveillance video," he told NBC broadcaster in an interview that aired in part on Saturday.
On Friday, Lochte apologized for his behavior and accepted responsibility for his role in the incident, adding he had learned some valuable lessons.
While Lochte reportedly left Brazil before a judge issued an order to seize the passports of the four swimmers, Conger and Bentz were pulled off a flight from Rio de Janeiro to the United States on Wednesday amid an investigation into the alleged robbery.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the US Olympic Committee apologized for the actions of the US Olympic swimmers, acknowledging that they had not in fact been robbed.
