Rio Robbery Claim the Latest Scandal for US Olympian Ryan Lochte

— -- The robbery scandal that has engulfed four U.S. Olympic swimmers has put much of the spotlight on gold medalist Ryan Lochte.

It was Lochte who publicly claimed that he, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and fellow Olympian James Feigen were robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro. The 32-year-old gold medalist then flew home to the U.S. while Bentz and Conger were pulled off their plane to the U.S. and interviewed by Brazilian police and Feigen remained in Brazil, ultimately agreeing to donate approximately $11,000 to a Brazilian charity to resolve the dispute, according to his local lawyer.

Lochte issued an apology on social media Friday, stating he waited to issue a statement until "it was clear" his teammates would be arriving safely back in the U.S.

"I want to apologize for my behavior last weekend -- for not being more careful and candid in how I described the events of that early morning and for my role in taking the focus away from the many athletes fulfilling their dreams of participating in the Olympics," Lochte said in the statement. ""It's traumatic to be out late with your friends in a foreign country -- with a language barrier -- and have a stranger point a gun at you and demand money to let you leave, but regardless of the behavior of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that am sorry to my teammates, my fans, my fellow competitors, my sponsors, and the hosts of this great event."

The alleged robbery incident during the Rio Olympics is far from Lochte’s first run-in with the law.

The 12-time Olympic medalist was charged with public urination in Florida in 2005, according to court records. Five years later, he was charged with disorderly conduct after police say he was caught in a physical fight. Both cases were dismissed after reaching prosecution deals, according to the court papers.

Lochte, who is currently dating a Playboy Playmate, became a household name when he took home five medals, two of them gold, at the London Summer Olympic Games in 2012. He courted controversy by sporting an American flag-themed mouthpiece and coining the catchphrase “jeah!”

His celebrity status has earned him front-row seats at fashion shows, races in a Las Vegas swimming pool with Britain’s Prince Harry and a starring role in his own reality TV show, “What Would Ryan Lochte Do?” on E!

The show only lasted one season, but in an interview last month on “GMA,” Lochte said he would do it again -- but on his terms, “not the network terms.”

USA Today columnist Christine Brennan believes the Rio scandal may signify the end of Lochte's swimming career.

"I think Lochte is looking at a significant suspension and we may never see him again in the pool," she told ABC News. "It's unusual to see an Olympian with this kind of bad boy reputation."

Twitter also erupted on Thursday after a spokesman for the Rio Olympics defended Lochte and his USA Swimming teammates. Brazil's police yesterday said that Lochte, Feigen and the other swimmers who had claimed they were held up at gunpoint in Rio were in fact not robbed.

“Let's give these kids a break. Sometimes you take actions that you later regret. They are magnificent athletes," Mario Andrada, a spokesman for Rio 2016, said Thursday. "Lochte is one of the best swimmers of all times. They had fun. They made a mistake. It's part of life. Life goes on. Let's go."

To many, Andrada’s comments were representative of a telling double-standard.

Some others contrasted this situation to that of Team USA gymnast Gabby Douglas, who was last week heavily criticized on social media for not putting her hand over her heart after the U.S. women’s gymnastics team captured gold in Rio.