While Ryan Lochte's Rio robbery scandal dominated the headlines during the final week of the Olympics, many were wondering what his longtime teammate Michael Phelps thought of the whole ordeal. Well now we know as the most decorated Olympian of all time gave his take on things.
Since the scandal broke Phelps has only uttered a few words about the controversy that Lochte and fellow Team USA swimmers Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen got themselves into. Knowing a thing or two about capturing the limelight for the wrong reasons himself, Phelps said that he has reached out to Lochte.
"Ryan and I have been teammates forever and it's always hard to see a friend and a competitor going through a hard time like this – I know what it feels like. I've been through it before," Phelps said according to People. "Hopefully he can come out of this a better person. I've reached out to him a couple times and I think he understands a lot. He will be able to grow from this."
Lochte and his teammates sparked a major controversy when they told Brazilian authorities and media members that they had been robbed at gunpoint at a Rio gas station and later admitted that they "exaggerated" the story. Lochte has since been dropped by several of his major sponsors.