Ryan Lochte DWTS Season 23 Swimmer Joins ABC After Rio Olympics Scandal

Ryan Lochte has decided to trade his flippers for some tap shoes, as it appears that he has signed on to be part of Season 23 of Dancing with the Stars.

The award-winning Olympic swimmer might have just found himself in quite the scandal following the Rio Olympics but he is looking to get back in the good graces of the United States. So how does someone who has been getting so much heat in the press win back over a country that seems to have turned their backs on him? Well, by dancing of course.

According to Radar Online, the ink is still drying on the contracts, but Lochte is really hoping that this will help him get his career back on track.

"Lochte has agreed to Season 23 of Dancing with the Stars," an insider explained of the 32-year-old Olympian, according to The Inquistr. "This is all part of a well-orchestrated and carefully planned career redemption tour being organized by some of the best public relations advisors and crisis managers in the business."

A photo posted by Ryanlochte (@ryanlochte) on Jul 31, 2016 at 3:14pm PDT

This PR company is hoping that this reality TV stint will fare better than his canceled E! series, which followed the London 2012 Olympics. They also think that it will show America a different side to the athlete than they saw in Rio.

"His people know that if the real Ryan Lochte is shown to America -- via a medium such as Dancing with the Stars -- people will realize that the incident in Rio was an aberration," the source explained, according to the Washington Post.

In related news, it seems that Lochte wasn't the only Rio star that was asked to be part of the new season, in fact, they also had their eyes set on Simone Biles, who would have joined past gymnastic DWTS contestants Nastia Lukin and Shawn Johnson on the dancefloor.

However, Biles couldn't agree to doing the show because she had agreed to other commitments.

More contestants will be announced in the coming weeks, before the show premieres this September.