U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte and U.S. soccer goalie Hope Solo cast a shadow over the American team in the view of society and Cathedral Catholic High School athletes.

“I’m not even a swimmer, but I feel really bad for him,” CCHS track and field athlete Nicole Golba ’17 said of Lochte. “I feel bad for other swimmers, too. He kind of made the whole sport look bad.”

Lochte, 12-time Olympic medalist, was embroiled in scandal after he drunkenly damaged a gas station, even refusing to pay for the damages after armed forces arrived. Instead of confessing the next morning, the swimmer told the public a story of how he was robbed at gunpoint. Security footage and witness testimonies proved the claim false, appalling his sponsors and spectators alike.

Due to his exaggeration, Lochte lost four of his major sponsors.

“I think he’s a poor ambassador for his sport,” CCHS Head Swim Coach Jeff Owen said. “I hope people can separate him as a person from the sport itself. He’s a hard worker and a great athlete, but he’s a moron.”

Soccer players felt similarly towards Solo, a longtime goalie for the U.S. women’s national soccer team and two-time Olympic medalist. after she insulted the Swedish soccer team’s playing style.

Mikayla Kappes ’17, a center midfielder for the CCHS varsity soccer team, was disappointed in the professional player’s actions and behavior.

“She needed to not say anything stupid since she just attracts so much bad media attention,” Kappes said.

Solo ran afoul of the law a few years ago for allegedly assaulting her nephew, Kappes said. She also angered Brazilians before the 2016 Olympics by being publicly worried about the Zika virus.

Solo became a lightning rod for negative media attention, and her demeaning comments toward the Swedish team did not help her reputation. In fact, the comments marked the final straw for the United States’ team, which suspended her for six months and terminated her contract, possibly ending her career with the team.

Although CCHS athletes may be mulling over the scandals of some of their Olympian idols, they refuse to allow disappointment to infiltrate their love of sports, Kappes said.