Paul Thomas says there are lessons in what Ryan Lochte did and said.
He warns, don’t let your child to grow up to be like Ryan.
Boys will be boys, even if the boy is 32.
If you are white, you can get away with lying and disgracing your teammates.
If you are black, don’t dare to carry a water gun or a toy pistol.
You could be killed.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Lochte is suffering more from athluenza than the ever popular white privilege accusation. Athletes, white or black, are given a pass from high school on to the pros. We can look at the misbehavior in the NFL or NBA. The equivalence with the true injustice of Rice or Gray is a stretch.
I may never understand “white privilege” as a pre-judged, white heterosexual male. My family growing up was not wealthy and worked hard to get by. I watch my “white heterosexual male” son struggle with disabilities he didn’t ask for and wonder how his “white privilege” is going to keep him from living in a box when I’m gone.
Life is more complicated than labels and stereotypes. Thomas doesn’t seem to understand that.
You can’t point to someone like Lochte and say he skates by because of X; it’s likely a combination of all of his attributes and he has quite a lot: he’s a great athlete, famous, good looking, personable…..and white.
Vale, I want to say something poignant and helpful about your son. That box line is eating me alive. My weaknesses as a writer are exposed here, though. I’ll just have to write that I am with you.
He’s white… and an idiot. He lied to everyone and is only apologizing because millions in endorsements are on the line. The greatest Olympic moment was the U.S. and New Zealander runners – Hamblin encouraging D’Agostino to finish the race. Or Farah falling, then getting back up and winning. Or any number of moments besides a group of drunk swimmers. The Lochte incident received far too much undue publicity and overshadowed some real accomplishments. It tarnished us as a country and was ugly. Enough “white privilege”. It is a claim based on the same thought process Trump supporters have that an entire group/race of people are getting something for nothing. More alike than different and both are getting ridiculous.
Reblogged this on Matthews' Blog and commented:
Indeed.
I agree very strongly with the message that you don’t have to whitewash yourself to overcome prejudice. You don’t have to pronounce words the way the Queen does. You don’t have to straighten or cut your hair. You don’t have to remove your cap or wear tight fitting clothes. You don’t have to sit still and silent.
Instead, it helps to be yourself. And carry a mirror. Let those with prejudice look on themselves when they judge. And let me look on myself whenever I think to judge. I must start with the man in my mirror.
The thing is do they do this stuff at home but get a free pass and so nobody gets to here about it? Or was this just a one-off Rio incident where the locals weren’t going to let them get away with being so disrespectful towards their country?
The sad thing is that while Lochte wasn’t known for being a mental giant, he was known for being nice personable guy who never turned away an autograph and ran clinics for kids who absolutely loved him and the attention he gave them. But lack of maturity and fame in a small microcosm got to him and he essentially started behaving like a douche bag. And yes, he got away with things others wouldn’t, especially minorities – heck Gabby Douglas was vilified for doing absolutely nothing wrong.
Locthe’s best bet would be to state he was wrong, plead guilty in Brazil and do a year of community service in Rio while living there. Even if it’s somewhat cushy community service like teaching little kids swimming – seeing what those kids deal with would be good for him and others.
I like your thoughts Allison.
Thanks Ms. Cartwheel. One of my kids was involved in swimming and there were some invitationals that had the big time swimmers. Phelps always had a semi-entourage surrounding him and you couldn’t walk within ten feet of him. Lochte on the other hand, was just doing his own thing as if he weren’t well known, yet talked and took pictures with any kid who approached him. Believe me, I’m the first to not want my kids bothering anyone famous. But Lochte didn’t make it seem that way. The kids knew to approach him in between races and he never made them feel like they were taking up his time. I was surprisingly impressed with him, so this situation is kind of devastating to my daughter…and me.
I kept thinking what if that was the track team members. The relay runners to be specific, what would be said about them. We need to stop pretending that there is not a problem in our world. When we confront the issues with a true heart to change, we will all be better off for it.
You are so right.
This is an ignorant statement. This isn’t a racial issue, and it has nothing to do with guns. RL lied, end of story. He did it because he was enabled. Anyone, black or white, who is enabled will continue with bad behavior. If you’re going to insert race, then let’s look at the various forms of entitlement that lead to bad behavior for many groups of people.
Ryan Lochte should shut his big mouth and just stick to swimming. He would be a lot better off. What a narcissist.
I lose my mind everytime someone offers “Boys will be boys” as an explanation for anything.
It’s total crap.
Everyone had a moral compass.
Unfortunately Lochte’s (and his buddies’) is corrupted and/or broken.
Ryan Lochte, may be a distraction to a much larger issue. As much as I enjoyed watching the Olympics. The issue is not what a drunk Lochte may have done to cover up bad behavior and being shook down by a security guard for that behavior.
Do we forget the cost that the OIC extracts from Nations in the bidding process for the Olympics. It is one thing for rich Nations quite another for Nations with significant poverty.
Over 3000 Brazilian families were driven from their homes, to clear way for the Stadium .
How many vital resources were diverted to pay for the development. The fact that police and military had to be used to keep “the rabble” away. Now to be sure there will be economic benefit to some, but who will that be?
While I sit here watching the closing ceremony, it is quite a contrast to life in Brazil. A life
that includes tremendous poverty and now a soft coup. One that has eliminated all non white Hispanics or indigenous people from the Cabinet . Undoubtedly with either the support or consent of Uncle Sam.
I’m confused. How is he “getting away with this?” He shamed himself, his own team, his sport and American Olympians by a disgraceful bizarre lie. Weren’t his teammates pulled off of planes that were headed for the US? And all of this in front of a worldwide audience. His integrity has been shot to hell. How can this possibly be construed to be about race? And how is he getting away with it?
I did some stupid things when I was young. And in foreign countries. Still do stupid things, but not nearly as much or as stupid. Or in foreign countries. Lochte is old enough, scholarly enough, and wise enough to be a Teach for America “teacher”. That’s about it. The point is that pineapples compete in swimming pools of achievement and/or grit(s).
Lochte has been known to brag about his partying. Some athletes think, it’s somehow cool to party and still be a successful athlete. “I am just that good.” they say.
Partying caught up with Lochte: he didn’t prepare well for the Olympics and failed to win a single medal in individual events and even in the 4×200 freestyle relay he swam by far the worst split of the US team—he certainly wouldn’t have made the individual finals with the time.
I think what he and the other 3 swimmers did is the result of bad coaching. It’s the coaches’ responsibility to explain to the athletes—and to make sure, they understand—that bad behavior at a competition is an embarrassment for the team, so in this case, it’s embarrassing for the 300 million people he represents.
Coaches rarely do a good job in this. They just don’t think, it’s their responsibility. They rarely try to control their athletes’ partying. Big partying right after a big competition is almost a must, and sanctioned by the coaches and other team leaders. Why? You can let off steam once you are at home, but as long as you are representing our country, behave.
The wider implications about white privilege is probably a stretch. The party culture of athletes described above is real, and so is athletes’ failing to understand their place and non-athletic tasks at competitions.
I read this statement as another example of blaming someone other than the individual who decides to commit an act. By blaming the coaches, another individual (RL) gets a pass for his bad bahavior. It’s sad that personal accountability has been dropped from the popular culture and blaming someone else is rewarded. It’s not my fault, it’s the coach’s fault. It’s not my fault, it’s the teacher’s fault. It’s not my fault, it’s the government’s fault. It’s not my fault, it’s [insert desired racial group’s] fault. This is the product of the warm-fuzzy, liberal progressive agenda that makes the United States one of the lowest performing countries in the world on more than one social, educational, and economic measure.
You are correct, RWHP, in that individuals do have their responsibility, and I wasn’t clear on that. On the other hand, athletes misbehave much more than regular folks. Why is that? Are they properly educated about how an athlete is supposed to behave? Are they educated about an athlete’s responsibilities? Do coaches need a degree to coach the high school or college level?
In general, I think coaches have a much greater responsibility for the “kids” under their care than teachers do. This is because coaching is much more militaristic than teaching. Most of the time, kids execute orders, and their personal input is rarely desirable.
I really appreciate your balanced and thoughtful assessment of this situation, Mate. Coaches have a unique opportunitiy to guide their athletes towards integrity, character and solid morality. Good coaches are respected and admired by their athletes, which puts them in a very important position in the lives of the young people with whom they work. In fact, in many cases, no one else has that kind of influence – not teachers and often times not parents.
However, I still can’t see blaming the coaches for Lochte’s incredible Deceitfulness and betrayal, unless we know for sure that they did something to contribute to this wild fabrication.
As I said, I was not clear, and I think the blame is certainly on Lochte, but the fact that 3 other swimmers were involved (and knowing the general culture of sports), I think it’s appropriate to point out that many coaches are not doing a good job in educating their athletes on off-the-field behavior.
The culture has changed. 30-40 years ago, there was a dinner and dance after every international competition. Now organizers bypass this due to athletes’ excessive drinking and the resulting fights and other uncontrolled behaviors.
I think Lochte is not alone but represents a culture which tolerates alcohol and drugs for athletes. Many coaches (but certainly not all) think, as long as athletes do well at competitions or games, they have no business in telling kids how to behave off the field.
Thank you for your clarification. I believe many people are frustrated by the amount of attention given to individuals who break the rules – in whatever context the rules may occur. It seems there has been a departure from considering the impact of individual behavior on the group and a movement toward narcissism and conceit. I fully agree that coaches have a very different avenue of influence on their players than teachers. It just seems like the voices of reason are shouting over a greater level of social static, and it seems that the rewards for poor behavior are perceived as more important than the rewards for being considerate, honest, and empathetic. It puts athletes in an awkward position. Thank you, again, for your response.
What we need to realize is that unlike public school teachers, coaches always have the opportunity and power to kick a disrupting athlete off the team. And Lochte was disruptive. And he was not kicked off his team. Instead, his “free spirit” (partying, drinking instead of practicing) was tolerated.
This article has references to Lochte’s “free spirit”. For reasons similar to the membership in a military platoon, an unreliable athlete shouldn’t be tolerated in a sports team. Lochte was tolerated because he was successful.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article9120449.html
Lochte’s lying about the events is a different issue, and it probably got out of hand unintentionally.
The story of Lochte’s alleged robbery first emerged on Sunday, when his mother, Ileana, told media that her son had been held up at gunpoint.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/18/ryan-lochte-s-mom-isn-t-helping-with-his-rio-olympics-robbery-story.html