Author Topic: Did Lochte and the other swimmers make up a Robbery?  (Read 28077 times)

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Re: Did Lochte and the other swimmers make up a Robbery?
« Reply #60 on: August 22, 2016, 11:35:40 PM »

Offline Tr1boy

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Lotche can get a job for "dont drink and visit a gas station" or you will end up like me


Re: Did Lochte and the other swimmers make up a Robbery?
« Reply #61 on: August 23, 2016, 08:08:40 AM »

Offline Moranis

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Sounds like Lochte really made a fool of himself both during and after this series of events. I still am not really sure why he felt compelled to exaggerate the story. It seems like if I was acting like a drunken fool I would do everything I could to just have people stop talking about the event as soon as possible.
He was still really drunk when he was asked about it and frankly probably couldn't remember what actually happened.  Remember he didn't bring this story up. Lochte apparently talked to his mother when he got back to Olympic Village, she was on a bus with a reporter who saw she was upset, and she told the reporter of the robbery.  Then Billy Bush (or whomever) tracked him down and asked him about it and he was still blitzed (which really shows just how drunk he was at the gas station) and he embellished parts of the story (like the gun at his head and not just pointed in his general direction) and left parts out (like the peeing on the bush and pulling down the sign).  Good chance Lochte was so drunk he couldn't actually remember what happened and only after he sobered up and talked to the other guys did he start to piece it all together. 

I still maintain the Rio police made a much bigger deal out of this than required because there was clearly some shady stuff going on.  Off duty police aren't allowed to flash their badge, that happened here.  Security guards shouldn't draw multiple weapons on drunken tourists, especially over something as simple at best 30 dollars of damage.  Feigen never filed a police report, yet was charged with filing a false police report and was extorted for almost 12,000 dollars.  Bentz and Conger never should have been pulled from a plane when they weren't suspects for this type of investigation.  Brasil vastly overreacted to what was simply some drunken stupidity of some tourists. 
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Re: Did Lochte and the other swimmers make up a Robbery?
« Reply #62 on: August 23, 2016, 08:37:30 AM »

Offline Csfan1984

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Sounds like Lochte really made a fool of himself both during and after this series of events. I still am not really sure why he felt compelled to exaggerate the story. It seems like if I was acting like a drunken fool I would do everything I could to just have people stop talking about the event as soon as possible.
He was still really drunk when he was asked about it and frankly probably couldn't remember what actually happened.  Remember he didn't bring this story up. Lochte apparently talked to his mother when he got back to Olympic Village, she was on a bus with a reporter who saw she was upset, and she told the reporter of the robbery.  Then Billy Bush (or whomever) tracked him down and asked him about it and he was still blitzed (which really shows just how drunk he was at the gas station) and he embellished parts of the story (like the gun at his head and not just pointed in his general direction) and left parts out (like the peeing on the bush and pulling down the sign).  Good chance Lochte was so drunk he couldn't actually remember what happened and only after he sobered up and talked to the other guys did he start to piece it all together. 

I still maintain the Rio police made a much bigger deal out of this than required because there was clearly some shady stuff going on.  Off duty police aren't allowed to flash their badge, that happened here.  Security guards shouldn't draw multiple weapons on drunken tourists, especially over something as simple at best 30 dollars of damage.  Feigen never filed a police report, yet was charged with filing a false police report and was extorted for almost 12,000 dollars.  Bentz and Conger never should have been pulled from a plane when they weren't suspects for this type of investigation.  Brasil vastly overreacted to what was simply some drunken stupidity of some tourists.
Agree with a lot of this. Guy was drunk and probably couldn't recall everything anyways. It's not a big deal in general. Rio probably felt slighted and that lead them to handle things badly. I think that is the main story. They could have said he was wrong and showed what happen and just said lessons learned don't be a drunken idiot. But instead we got edited video and detainments.
« Last Edit: August 23, 2016, 09:07:49 AM by Csfan1984 »

Re: Did Lochte and the other swimmers make up a Robbery?
« Reply #63 on: August 23, 2016, 12:03:49 PM »

Offline RJ87

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Sounds like Lochte really made a fool of himself both during and after this series of events. I still am not really sure why he felt compelled to exaggerate the story. It seems like if I was acting like a drunken fool I would do everything I could to just have people stop talking about the event as soon as possible.
He was still really drunk when he was asked about it and frankly probably couldn't remember what actually happened.  Remember he didn't bring this story up. Lochte apparently talked to his mother when he got back to Olympic Village, she was on a bus with a reporter who saw she was upset, and she told the reporter of the robbery.  Then Billy Bush (or whomever) tracked him down and asked him about it and he was still blitzed (which really shows just how drunk he was at the gas station) and he embellished parts of the story (like the gun at his head and not just pointed in his general direction) and left parts out (like the peeing on the bush and pulling down the sign).  Good chance Lochte was so drunk he couldn't actually remember what happened and only after he sobered up and talked to the other guys did he start to piece it all together. 

I still maintain the Rio police made a much bigger deal out of this than required because there was clearly some shady stuff going on.  Off duty police aren't allowed to flash their badge, that happened here.  Security guards shouldn't draw multiple weapons on drunken tourists, especially over something as simple at best 30 dollars of damage.  Feigen never filed a police report, yet was charged with filing a false police report and was extorted for almost 12,000 dollars.  Bentz and Conger never should have been pulled from a plane when they weren't suspects for this type of investigation.  Brasil vastly overreacted to what was simply some drunken stupidity of some tourists.
Agree with a lot of this. Guy was drunk and probably couldn't recall everything anyways. It's not a big deal in general. Rio probably felt slighted and that lead them to handle things badly. I think that is the main story. They could have said he was wrong and showed what happen and just said lessons learned don't be a drunken idiot. But instead we got edited video and detainments.

Again, I wonder what the sentiment would be if this was Carmelo Anthony and a few other black Olympic athletes. My guess is there wouldn't be such a rush to dismiss this as drunken celebrating and the word "thug" would be used with reckless abandon. Or goodness forbid some Brazilian athletes came to the US and pulled a similar stunt. Rio should've felt slighted because he made up a story that made him look like the victim where in actuality, none of this would've happened if Ryan acted like a civilized human being rather than the entitled brat that he is.

Then again, looking at what happened with Brock Turner - expecting certain athletes to maintain some sort of decorum when intoxicated is just not a possibility in our society.
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Re: Did Lochte and the other swimmers make up a Robbery?
« Reply #64 on: August 23, 2016, 02:36:00 PM »

Offline celticsclay

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Sounds like Lochte really made a fool of himself both during and after this series of events. I still am not really sure why he felt compelled to exaggerate the story. It seems like if I was acting like a drunken fool I would do everything I could to just have people stop talking about the event as soon as possible.
He was still really drunk when he was asked about it and frankly probably couldn't remember what actually happened.  Remember he didn't bring this story up. Lochte apparently talked to his mother when he got back to Olympic Village, she was on a bus with a reporter who saw she was upset, and she told the reporter of the robbery.  Then Billy Bush (or whomever) tracked him down and asked him about it and he was still blitzed (which really shows just how drunk he was at the gas station) and he embellished parts of the story (like the gun at his head and not just pointed in his general direction) and left parts out (like the peeing on the bush and pulling down the sign).  Good chance Lochte was so drunk he couldn't actually remember what happened and only after he sobered up and talked to the other guys did he start to piece it all together. 

I still maintain the Rio police made a much bigger deal out of this than required because there was clearly some shady stuff going on.  Off duty police aren't allowed to flash their badge, that happened here.  Security guards shouldn't draw multiple weapons on drunken tourists, especially over something as simple at best 30 dollars of damage.  Feigen never filed a police report, yet was charged with filing a false police report and was extorted for almost 12,000 dollars.  Bentz and Conger never should have been pulled from a plane when they weren't suspects for this type of investigation.  Brasil vastly overreacted to what was simply some drunken stupidity of some tourists.

I agree with this. Well said, TP

Re: Did Lochte and the other swimmers make up a Robbery?
« Reply #65 on: August 23, 2016, 03:27:19 PM »

Offline Endless Paradise

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Sounds like Lochte really made a fool of himself both during and after this series of events. I still am not really sure why he felt compelled to exaggerate the story. It seems like if I was acting like a drunken fool I would do everything I could to just have people stop talking about the event as soon as possible.
He was still really drunk when he was asked about it and frankly probably couldn't remember what actually happened.  Remember he didn't bring this story up. Lochte apparently talked to his mother when he got back to Olympic Village, she was on a bus with a reporter who saw she was upset, and she told the reporter of the robbery.  Then Billy Bush (or whomever) tracked him down and asked him about it and he was still blitzed (which really shows just how drunk he was at the gas station) and he embellished parts of the story (like the gun at his head and not just pointed in his general direction) and left parts out (like the peeing on the bush and pulling down the sign).  Good chance Lochte was so drunk he couldn't actually remember what happened and only after he sobered up and talked to the other guys did he start to piece it all together. 

I still maintain the Rio police made a much bigger deal out of this than required because there was clearly some shady stuff going on.  Off duty police aren't allowed to flash their badge, that happened here.  Security guards shouldn't draw multiple weapons on drunken tourists, especially over something as simple at best 30 dollars of damage.  Feigen never filed a police report, yet was charged with filing a false police report and was extorted for almost 12,000 dollars.  Bentz and Conger never should have been pulled from a plane when they weren't suspects for this type of investigation.  Brasil vastly overreacted to what was simply some drunken stupidity of some tourists.
Agree with a lot of this. Guy was drunk and probably couldn't recall everything anyways. It's not a big deal in general. Rio probably felt slighted and that lead them to handle things badly. I think that is the main story. They could have said he was wrong and showed what happen and just said lessons learned don't be a drunken idiot. But instead we got edited video and detainments.

Again, I wonder what the sentiment would be if this was Carmelo Anthony and a few other black Olympic athletes. My guess is there wouldn't be such a rush to dismiss this as drunken celebrating and the word "thug" would be used with reckless abandon.

Without question.

Re: Did Lochte and the other swimmers make up a Robbery?
« Reply #66 on: August 23, 2016, 06:46:39 PM »

Offline CelticSince83

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Sounds like Lochte really made a fool of himself both during and after this series of events. I still am not really sure why he felt compelled to exaggerate the story. It seems like if I was acting like a drunken fool I would do everything I could to just have people stop talking about the event as soon as possible.
He was still really drunk when he was asked about it and frankly probably couldn't remember what actually happened.  Remember he didn't bring this story up. Lochte apparently talked to his mother when he got back to Olympic Village, she was on a bus with a reporter who saw she was upset, and she told the reporter of the robbery.  Then Billy Bush (or whomever) tracked him down and asked him about it and he was still blitzed (which really shows just how drunk he was at the gas station) and he embellished parts of the story (like the gun at his head and not just pointed in his general direction) and left parts out (like the peeing on the bush and pulling down the sign).  Good chance Lochte was so drunk he couldn't actually remember what happened and only after he sobered up and talked to the other guys did he start to piece it all together. 

I still maintain the Rio police made a much bigger deal out of this than required because there was clearly some shady stuff going on.  Off duty police aren't allowed to flash their badge, that happened here.  Security guards shouldn't draw multiple weapons on drunken tourists, especially over something as simple at best 30 dollars of damage.  Feigen never filed a police report, yet was charged with filing a false police report and was extorted for almost 12,000 dollars.  Bentz and Conger never should have been pulled from a plane when they weren't suspects for this type of investigation.  Brasil vastly overreacted to what was simply some drunken stupidity of some tourists.
Agree with a lot of this. Guy was drunk and probably couldn't recall everything anyways. It's not a big deal in general. Rio probably felt slighted and that lead them to handle things badly. I think that is the main story. They could have said he was wrong and showed what happen and just said lessons learned don't be a drunken idiot. But instead we got edited video and detainments.

Again, I wonder what the sentiment would be if this was Carmelo Anthony and a few other black Olympic athletes. My guess is there wouldn't be such a rush to dismiss this as drunken celebrating and the word "thug" would be used with reckless abandon. Or goodness forbid some Brazilian athletes came to the US and pulled a similar stunt. Rio should've felt slighted because he made up a story that made him look like the victim where in actuality, none of this would've happened if Ryan acted like a civilized human being rather than the entitled brat that he is.

Then again, looking at what happened with Brock Turner - expecting certain athletes to maintain some sort of decorum when intoxicated is just not a possibility in our society.

The sentiment and narrative would be the exact same if it were a black athlete, except people like you would just be saying, "well if he were white the media wouldn't even report on this." 

Re: Did Lochte and the other swimmers make up a Robbery?
« Reply #67 on: August 23, 2016, 07:46:46 PM »

Offline ThaPreacher

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I am not going to criticize or excuse Lochte's behavior.
There is alot to be learned from this episode.

However, imagine that someone pointed a gun at you, and you were only allowed to leave after giving them money.   Would you tell your friends or your mother you were robbed?

Imagine that an American Police officer or two off duty cops did this to a Brazilian Olympic Athlete who had too much to drink.  Would we be talking about the athlete or the officer's behavior?

I don't think it's fair that we vilify Lochte or excuse him.

He made a mistake. 

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Re: Did Lochte and the other swimmers make up a Robbery?
« Reply #68 on: August 24, 2016, 08:02:51 AM »

Offline Moranis

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Feigen has now officially issued a statement and Brasil looks a lot worse.  Seems like a clear case of governmental extortion i.e. wait a month for us to finish our investigation or pay a fine and be able to leave now.  Especially when they put a number and then raise it when you refuse to pay before officially agreeing on a much smaller number than original sought, though still a rather large sum.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/24/jimmy-feigen-statement-rio-olympics-gas-station-swimmers-incident-release-negotiations/89245930/

The last of the three swimmers with Ryan Lochte at the scene of a Rio gas station dispute on Aug. 14 that turned into an international incident released a statement late Tuesday night, including details on the negotiations between his lawyers and the Brazilian authorities.

Jimmy Feigen said he was interviewed multiple times by police as he was caught up in the aftermath of Lochte initially telling the news media that they had been robbed at gunpoint  Feigen said he was presented with two options by Brazilian prosecutors last week: wait about a month as police conduct its investigation or pay a fine.

Prosecutors initially sought $31,500 for the return of Feigen’s passport that would allow him to leave the country. When Feigen’s lawyers balked at that figure, prosecutors raised the fine to $46,875.

“Finally, all parties agreed to a $10,800.00 fine,” Feigen  said. “I was able to contact my family in the United States along with my American attorneys and we were able to satisfy the payment of the fine the next day. My passport was returned to me after payment was received, and I was able to return home.”

 Feigen arrived home on Saturday. He supposed to fly out last Wednesday, like teammates Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz. But the three were either pulled off the flight or unable to make it onto the plane after a judge ordered their passports be seized as part of the investigation into whether they should be charged for filing a false report.

 The details of transpired at the Shell gas station in the early morning hours has evolved over the last several days. Lochte initially said that the swimmers had been pulled over and men with badges held the four at gunpoint. Lochte has since said he over-exaggerated some of the initial details, although a USA TODAY Sports investigation reported that Brazilian authorities may have embellished some allegations as well.

Feigen retold a similar account to the others on what went down after they left a party at French House.

 “We pulled over to a gas station to use the bathroom but the door was locked,” Feigen said. “We did not force entry into the bathroom, nor did we ever enter the bathroom. We did, however, make the regrettable decision to urinate in the grass behind the building.”

He omitted the urination part when he first spoke with police, but gave the full story when he was subsequently interviewed by authorities.

 “On our way back to the cab, Ryan Lochte pulled a poster in a metal frame off a wall,” Feigen  said. “I got back into the cab and waited for the others. One of my teammates told me that a man with a gun was standing outside the cab. The man with the gun spoke with the cab driver, who got out of the cab. We then got out of the cab and I paid the driver the fare. As I walked away, the man with the gun pointed it at me and my teammates and ordered us, in Portuguese, to sit. This was the first time I have ever had a gun pointed at me and I was terrified.”

 Feigen said he and Bentz paid for the damage to the poster.
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Re: Did Lochte and the other swimmers make up a Robbery?
« Reply #69 on: August 24, 2016, 09:05:20 AM »

Offline hpantazo

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How can you call it extortion? Their crime was in a foreign country, not in the US. When in a foreign country you have to follow their laws. You don't have to like or agree with their laws, but you have to follow them, just as any visitors to the US have to follow our laws when here. The Brazilian authorities knew full well that if these guys left the country before an investigation was completed, they would never return or pay any fines. This is a country that is struggling financially and invested a great deal in these games to build their reputation as a tourist spot.They could have easily made the argument in court that Lochte and his friends caused extensive damage to Brazil's reputation with their fabricated report, which will result in extensive loss of tourist revenue that would have been estimated at far greater than the 'extortionist fee' they had to pay. In a Brazilian court, if the process were allowed to play out, the US swimmers could have ended up paying a great deal more money.  In that sense, the US swimmers got off easy.

You may not like the fines they proposed, but without complete knowledge of their laws you can't call it extortion. Many of our laws and fines can be interpreted as extortion by people who visit our country. Heck, some of our government 'fees' for basic services such as passport renewals and local resident parking permits feel like extortion to some of us.

Re: Did Lochte and the other swimmers make up a Robbery?
« Reply #70 on: August 24, 2016, 09:21:56 AM »

Offline fairweatherfan

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How can you call it extortion? Their crime was in a foreign country, not in the US. When in a foreign country you have to follow their laws. You don't have to like or agree with their laws, but you have to follow them, just as any visitors to the US have to follow our laws when here. The Brazilian authorities knew full well that if these guys left the country before an investigation was completed, they would never return or pay any fines. This is a country that is struggling financially and invested a great deal in these games to build their reputation as a tourist spot.They could have easily made the argument in court that Lochte and his friends caused extensive damage to Brazil's reputation with their fabricated report, which will result in extensive loss of tourist revenue that would have been estimated at far greater than the 'extortionist fee' they had to pay. In a Brazilian court, if the process were allowed to play out, the US swimmers could have ended up paying a great deal more money.  In that sense, the US swimmers got off easy.

You may not like the fines they proposed, but without complete knowledge of their laws you can't call it extortion. Many of our laws and fines can be interpreted as extortion by people who visit our country. Heck, some of our government 'fees' for basic services such as passport renewals and local resident parking permits feel like extortion to some of us.

I'm sympathetic to the idea that if they didn't get the money then they would never get it, but is private security guards (not police) holding people at gunpoint until a cash payment is made really consistent with Brazil's laws?  I honestly don't know but that doesn't seem like the kind of allowance many countries would make (though it certainly could be a longstanding social norm).

Re: Did Lochte and the other swimmers make up a Robbery?
« Reply #71 on: August 24, 2016, 09:41:40 AM »

Offline Moranis

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How can you call it extortion? Their crime was in a foreign country, not in the US. When in a foreign country you have to follow their laws. You don't have to like or agree with their laws, but you have to follow them, just as any visitors to the US have to follow our laws when here. The Brazilian authorities knew full well that if these guys left the country before an investigation was completed, they would never return or pay any fines. This is a country that is struggling financially and invested a great deal in these games to build their reputation as a tourist spot.They could have easily made the argument in court that Lochte and his friends caused extensive damage to Brazil's reputation with their fabricated report, which will result in extensive loss of tourist revenue that would have been estimated at far greater than the 'extortionist fee' they had to pay. In a Brazilian court, if the process were allowed to play out, the US swimmers could have ended up paying a great deal more money.  In that sense, the US swimmers got off easy.

You may not like the fines they proposed, but without complete knowledge of their laws you can't call it extortion. Many of our laws and fines can be interpreted as extortion by people who visit our country. Heck, some of our government 'fees' for basic services such as passport renewals and local resident parking permits feel like extortion to some of us.
Feigen didn't commit a crime.  He wasn't charged with a crime.  They said wait a month for us to complete our investigation or pay a bunch of money right now to leave.  That is the definition of extortion.
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Re: Did Lochte and the other swimmers make up a Robbery?
« Reply #72 on: August 24, 2016, 10:01:09 AM »

Offline hpantazo

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How can you call it extortion? Their crime was in a foreign country, not in the US. When in a foreign country you have to follow their laws. You don't have to like or agree with their laws, but you have to follow them, just as any visitors to the US have to follow our laws when here. The Brazilian authorities knew full well that if these guys left the country before an investigation was completed, they would never return or pay any fines. This is a country that is struggling financially and invested a great deal in these games to build their reputation as a tourist spot.They could have easily made the argument in court that Lochte and his friends caused extensive damage to Brazil's reputation with their fabricated report, which will result in extensive loss of tourist revenue that would have been estimated at far greater than the 'extortionist fee' they had to pay. In a Brazilian court, if the process were allowed to play out, the US swimmers could have ended up paying a great deal more money. In that sense, the US swimmers got off easy.

You may not like the fines they proposed, but without complete knowledge of their laws you can't call it extortion. Many of our laws and fines can be interpreted as extortion by people who visit our country. Heck, some of our government 'fees' for basic services such as passport renewals and local resident parking permits feel like extortion to some of us.
Feigen didn't commit a crime.  He wasn't charged with a crime.  They said wait a month for us to complete our investigation or pay a bunch of money right now to leave.  That is the definition of extortion.


Again you ignore the facts and make no effort to look up or ask about foreign laws and the perspectives of other nations. You would not fair well abroad I think.


You also left out a significant part of his statement, which in part directly addresses the point I made in my previous post that their fabricated robbery story could damage the reputation of the host nation, Brazil, as a tourist destination:

"First and foremost I would like to apologize for the serious distractions from the Olympics, Rio de Janeiro, and Team USA," Feigen's statement read.

"It was never my intent to draw attention away from the tradition of athletic competition. I want to thank the IOC and the people of Rio de Janeiro for their hospitality in hosting these games."

"I have nothing but respect for the city in undertaking the massive responsibility of hosting the Olympics and I feel their performance was exemplary."

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/24/sport/james-feigen-apology-gas-station-ryan-lochte/index.html

If he did nothing wrong, why the long apology? He also does not accuse anyone in his statement of extortion or anything like it. All the statements thus far of the swimmers basically indirectly throw Lochte under the bus, deservedly so.
« Last Edit: August 24, 2016, 10:19:52 AM by hpantazo »

Re: Did Lochte and the other swimmers make up a Robbery?
« Reply #73 on: August 24, 2016, 10:27:48 AM »

Offline hpantazo

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I think mainly what we have to remember is that as much as people criticize law enforcement in our country, we are very fortunate, our laws and law enforcement officials operate at a very high standard that is not commonly found outside the US. Just don't take it for granted when traveling outside the US.

Re: Did Lochte and the other swimmers make up a Robbery?
« Reply #74 on: August 24, 2016, 10:30:04 AM »

Offline Moranis

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How can you call it extortion? Their crime was in a foreign country, not in the US. When in a foreign country you have to follow their laws. You don't have to like or agree with their laws, but you have to follow them, just as any visitors to the US have to follow our laws when here. The Brazilian authorities knew full well that if these guys left the country before an investigation was completed, they would never return or pay any fines. This is a country that is struggling financially and invested a great deal in these games to build their reputation as a tourist spot.They could have easily made the argument in court that Lochte and his friends caused extensive damage to Brazil's reputation with their fabricated report, which will result in extensive loss of tourist revenue that would have been estimated at far greater than the 'extortionist fee' they had to pay. In a Brazilian court, if the process were allowed to play out, the US swimmers could have ended up paying a great deal more money. In that sense, the US swimmers got off easy.

You may not like the fines they proposed, but without complete knowledge of their laws you can't call it extortion. Many of our laws and fines can be interpreted as extortion by people who visit our country. Heck, some of our government 'fees' for basic services such as passport renewals and local resident parking permits feel like extortion to some of us.
Feigen didn't commit a crime.  He wasn't charged with a crime.  They said wait a month for us to complete our investigation or pay a bunch of money right now to leave.  That is the definition of extortion.


Again you ignore the facts and make no effort to look up or ask about foreign laws and the perspectives of other nations. You would not fair well abroad I think.


You also left out a significant part of his statement, which in part directly addresses the point I made in my previous post that their fabricated robbery story could damage the reputation of the host nation, Brazil, as a tourist destination:

"First and foremost I would like to apologize for the serious distractions from the Olympics, Rio de Janeiro, and Team USA," Feigen's statement read.

"It was never my intent to draw attention away from the tradition of athletic competition. I want to thank the IOC and the people of Rio de Janeiro for their hospitality in hosting these games."

"I have nothing but respect for the city in undertaking the massive responsibility of hosting the Olympics and I feel their performance was exemplary."

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/24/sport/james-feigen-apology-gas-station-ryan-lochte/index.html

If he did nothing wrong, why the long apology? He also does not accuse anyone in his statement of extortion or anything like it. All the statements thus far of the swimmers basically indirectly throw Lochte under the bus, deservedly so.
He doesn't have to accuse Brasil of extortion when what he describes is extortion.  And he apologized because this story overshadowed the second week of the Olympics and he wants to save face and not get suspended by USA Swimming or hurt his long term earning potential.

There was no fabricated robbery story.  They were held at gunpoint by non-police until they paid 50 dollars and were allowed to leave.  Now sure the 50 dollars was to pay for some damage to a sign (a sign that cost significantly less than 50 dollars based on all accounts I've seen).  But Feigen was not charged with a crime.  Feigen had his passport seized and was not allowed to leave Brasil until a month long investigation was completed (one that was completed within a day or two of this statement to him btw) or he paid a fine in excess of 32k, which then became 47k when he refused, which ultimately became $10,800 American dollars).  That is classic state sponsored extortion.  We aren't going to charge you with anything but we aren't going to let you leave unless you pay a bunch of money.  There is no way that Feigen wasn't extorted.  None at all.
2023 Historical Draft - Brooklyn Nets - 9th pick

Bigs - Pau, Amar'e, Issel, McGinnis, Roundfield
Wings - Dantley, Bowen, J. Jackson
Guards - Cheeks, Petrovic, Buse, Rip