On ‘GMA,’ Ryan Lochte admits to lie, says he wants to ‘move on’

U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte has a PR-induced catchphrase: “I over-exaggerated.”

When you’re an Olympic gold medalist with an image to protect, a simple case of over-exaggeration can lead to being branded as an international liar.

Such was the case with Lochte after Rio investigators revealed that his initial story—of being “robbed” and “having a gun pointed to his forehead”—was inaccurate.

During an interview on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday, Lochte owned up to his wrong-doing, though he quickly blamed journalists and reporters for taking his “huge mistake” and turning it into “the worst weeks of his life.”

From the interview:

I have a great team. They are dealing with it, all the legal issues. We’re just trying to get this over with. It’s been dragged out way [for] too long. The media has taken this to a whole new level. I want to put this behind me and move on and move forward, and I think the rest of the world wants that, too. There are other, bigger issues that this world is facing. I am human. I made a mistake, and that’s something I am going to have to live with.