Ryan Lochte has publicly apologized for the "huge mistake" he made in Rio, but his role in the scandal continues to dominate the headlines.
There are, understandably, a lot of people who are very disappointed in the Olympic athlete, but there are still fellow members of Team USA who are willing to vouch for Lochte's character. As Gold medalist Conor Dwyer said on Sirius XM's Conversations With Maria Menounos, Lochte is "genuinely a good guy" who just got caught up in a big mistake.
Dwyer was actually with Lochte and Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen before the gas station incident took place, but he went to opted to go to a different party on that fateful evening. "I was with them for like an hour, and I just wanted to go check out another place," he recalled. "They were staying at the France house, so I didn't see really anything of the night."
Both Dwyer and Maya Dirado, a member of the women's USA swimming team, said Lochte's situation "could've been handled better" by their teammate.
"I think people are pretty forgiving if you just own up to it," Dirdo told Menounous, "and I think it just took too long for him to admit to his mistakes."
Dwyer agreed, adding, "It's tough that it took away from some other people that were crushing it at the Olympics, but I'm sure it'll roll over soon."
Lochte, Bentz, Conger, and Feigen "are all nice guys," Dwyer said. "It's just bad stuff happens to good people, and I'm sure they'll bounce back from it."
Dwyer was legitimately surprised to find Lochte at the center of the Rio robbery scandal. "No, I wouldn't expect that out of him," he said. "I've known him for a long time, I've trained with him, been teammates with him, and he's genuinely a good guy, so it hurts to see him in this position and make a mistake like that."
For more from Dwyer and Dirado on Lochte, watch the video above and tune in to E! News tonight at 7 and 11 p.m.
Conversations With Maria Menounos airs weekdays at 1PM EST on Sirius XM Stars.