The most ridiculous thing about this Ryan Lochte story is the fact that the most ridiculous thing is not the story itself.

Because if the latest reports are true — that Lochte made up the story that he and other swimmers were robbed at gunpoint — that is an all-time ridiculous story.

But it's not more ridiculous than the quote attributed to an official Olympics spokesman in the aftermath: "Let's give these kids a break. They made a mistake."

Actually, you know what? Let's not give them a break. Instead, let's acknowledge that Lochte is 32. He is a grown man who is eligible to vote for president in November.

For the fourth time in his life.

He's been of legal drinking age in the United States for more than a decade. Even if you look at the sum of the rest of his life and experiences and conclude Lochte is in a state of arrested adolescence, that does not change that fact that he's been an adult for a very long time.

Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.