By Taylor Schutt This year’s Olympics were in Rio, and as we all know, there were some problems with the venue. The pool water was green, the Russians were doping, and there were tons of security scares. As much as those issues seem wild, I’m here to discuss Ryan Lochte and his infamous scandal. Would this be considered another case of white privilege or a terrible lack of judgment? The fabricated story that Lochte told was that he and three other swimmers were robbed at gunpoint in Rio. We all responded to the story with sympathy; even Matt Lauer said Lochte would never make up a story like this! We were sympathetic until it started to unravel, and it unraveled fast. The true story, with security camera footage to prove it, shows that he and the other swimmers were highly intoxicated at a gas station, trashed a bathroom, and fought with security. While Lochte was back in the U.S., his fellow swimmers were detained in Rio until they told their side of the story, and when the Brazilian authorities discovered that the story was fake, that was when everything hit the fan. A spokesperson for Rio 2016, Mario Andrada, told everyone that they shouldn’t be held responsible for their actions. “Give these kids a break.” Lochte is 32 years old. He should be held accountable for his actions. While all of this was exploding, Twitter is having a field day with the news, tweeting out hashtags, “#LochteGate and #Lochmess” while discussing white privilege. In this case, white privilege as well as celebrity privilege helped this situation. The fact that this scandal happened during the Olympics also changed things. The idea of white privilege is prevalent here-- he’s white, thirty-two years old, and gets called a kid for trashing a gas station bathroom while intoxicated. He only got to deal with a slap on the wrist and a shameful publicity tour. Many people were upset with him but were appalled at Gabby Douglas for not putting her hand on her heart for the anthem. I agree that Lochte got off easy; he’s now on “Dancing With The Stars,” instead of being punished. While his white privilege helped, his celebrity played a big part as well.
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Elena Caputo
Hi! My name is Elena, and I'm a senior at Wilson and one of the Editors of the Editorial section. If you have any questions or ideas or if you want to write, email me at [email protected]! Olivia MonosHello! My name is Olivia and I'm a junior this year, and one of the editors of the Editorial section! I'm really excited to write for the Paw Print again this year!
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