In honor of the Olympic games coming to an end this weekend, today’s recap will be spotlighting a certain incident that happened in Rio this week. Some are referring to it as “Lochtegate,” we’re just calling it basic PR.

The Fishy Situation:
Several members of the U.S. Olympic swim team claimed to have been robbed at gunpoint this past week while returning from a nightclub in Rio. However, their tale didn’t quite hold water. To summarize, the Rio authorities noticed significant gaps in the swimmers’ stories and the athletes involved are now being indicted for reporting a false crime to cover up reckless acts of vandalism committed while intoxicated.

But Here’s the PR Problem: Lack of Preparation
As far as public relations goes, the Rio games make for a very interesting case study. For several months leading up to the games, the media has focused on how unprepared Brazil was to host the Olympics, portraying Rio as a death trap and even scaring top athletes out of competing. Additionally, Rio’s PR strategy also lacked a bit of preparation.

As a result of the media backlash, Brazil has found itself constantly fighting to debunk exaggerations about the state of its country. In an attempt to defend its country’s name, the Brazilian government looked very deeply into Lochtegate. Perhaps, more deeply than necessary, and definitely much deeper than Lochte and gang were anticipating.

Although crime is an issue in Rio, accusations like the ones made by the U.S. swim team blow these claims into stereotypes. At the end of the day, a group of high-profile athletes from a privileged country recklessly vandalized property and leaned on stereotypes to avoid consequences — trusting they would appear like the victims, not the belligerent perpetrators.

Unfortunately, they also failed to prepare.

This scandal isn’t only unfair to Brazil, it has also unjustly robbed the spotlight from athletes of all nationalities that have waited their entire lives for this moment. Although this was an intoxicated mishap and not a capital offense, the symbolic rottenness is enough to leave a bruise. These Olympic swimmers were sent to Brazil to represent our country, but despite their numerous medals, their egotism and irresponsible behavior ultimately tarnished their team’s reputation.

PR Crisis Tip:
It’s best to always be transparent and cooperative. If you absolutely need a cover-up, make sure it’s something more juicy but less damning (and most importantly, doesn’t violate any laws). Releasing yet another silly Youtube video of a karaoke session would’ve been considered a better alternative to this embarrassing fraud.