CelticsStrong
Other Discussions => Other / General Sports => Topic started by: Moranis on August 18, 2016, 11:45:08 AM
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Pretty fascinating stuff going on in Brasil. The latest has the Brasilian authorities saying that at least two of the swimmers said it was made up to cover up an altercation at the gas station.
http://www.espn.com/olympics/swimming/story/_/id/17336394/2016-rio-olympics-video-shows-us-swimmer-damaging-gas-station-fighting-security-guard-ryan-lochte-incident
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Very interesting. Such an embarrassment for the US swim team if true after such an amazing showing at the games. Looks like Lochte knew enough to leave the country quickly and left his teammates behind. I'm just glad Phelps wasn't involved.
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why would they go so far just to cover up they had a fight about a broken bathroom door?
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These guys are idiots. Especially Lochte.
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why would they go so far just to cover up they had a fight about a broken bathroom door?
Well, they are known for their athletic ability not for their intellectual ability.
Apparently Lochte made up the robery story on the phone to his mother to cover up for the incident of breaking the bathroom door at the gas station and having to pay for it. The swimmers never initially reported a robery to the police. Lochte's mother told the press after she got off the phone with him, and then of course the police had to investigate it as a robery.
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why would they go so far just to cover up they had a fight about a broken bathroom door?
it's tough to think clearly after an all night bender.
and the fact this happened at 6am tells me they probably got their hands on some blow after the bar. they are really lucky this is all that happened to them...
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Reading between the lines this is what I think happened.
Guys are drunk and break down the bathroom door. They get confronted by an armed security guard who doesn't let them leave. The manager shows up and threatens to call the police unless they pay for the door. Given the swimmers don't want that, they cave and pay for the door, and I suspect pay far more than the door is actually worth. Thus, Lochte perceives this as a robbery (i.e. armed guard won't let them leave and gets far more money out of them then he should) and then Lochte tells his mom about it and while doing so leaves some things out and embellishes other parts. His mom tells the press and then Lochte has to cover for his mom.
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why would they go so far just to cover up they had a fight about a broken bathroom door?
it's tough to think clearly after an all night bender.
and the fact this happened at 6am tells me they probably got their hands on some blow after the bar. they are really lucky this is all that happened to them...
It wouldn't surprise me but I'm pretty sure world-class athletes with nothing to do have the stamina and motivation to stay up all night drinking without the old nose clams, even at 32.
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why would they go so far just to cover up they had a fight about a broken bathroom door?
Well, they are known for their athletic ability not for their intellectual ability.
Apparently Lochte made up the robery story on the phone to his mother to cover up for the incident of breaking the bathroom door at the gas station and having to pay for it. The swimmers never initially reported a robery to the police. Lochte's mother told the press after she got off the phone with him, and then of course the police had to investigate it as a robery.
hahaha! wow. so its his mom's fault?
yikes.
seize her passport too!
pretty dumb if thats all this is about.
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why would they go so far just to cover up they had a fight about a broken bathroom door?
Well, they are known for their athletic ability not for their intellectual ability.
Apparently Lochte made up the robery story on the phone to his mother to cover up for the incident of breaking the bathroom door at the gas station and having to pay for it. The swimmers never initially reported a robery to the police. Lochte's mother told the press after she got off the phone with him, and then of course the police had to investigate it as a robery.
hahaha! wow. so its his mom's fault?
yikes.
seize her passport too!
pretty dumb if thats all this is about.
Very dumb. every college kid learns to never tell their parents about the all-night benders. no reason athletes shouldn't know that same fact of life
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So at the conclusion of an epic bender these clowns managed to:
1. Break the law
2. Insult the Olympic Host Country (think about the implications of their "Brazilian thugs posing as police commit armed robbery against nice white boys" story - it is ugly, and taps into a narrative of violence that is already painful for Brazil).
3. Embarrass their country in an event where they should be honoring it
Bravo, boys, that's a brand new type of hat trick! You've achieved immortality.
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Reading between the lines this is what I think happened.
Guys are drunk and break down the bathroom door. They get confronted by an armed security guard who doesn't let them leave. The manager shows up and threatens to call the police unless they pay for the door. Given the swimmers don't want that, they cave and pay for the door, and I suspect pay far more than the door is actually worth. Thus, Lochte perceives this as a robbery (i.e. armed guard won't let them leave and gets far more money out of them then he should) and then Lochte tells his mom about it and while doing so leaves some things out and embellishes other parts. His mom tells the press and then Lochte has to cover for his mom.
I think that's mostly on the nose, but he probably called his mom hung over. His mom says "you sound off, what's wrong?" and he made up the robbery story. His mom then went to the media behind his back.
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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/18/ryan-lochte-us-swimmers-robbery-rio-gas-station?CMP=twt_gu
apparently the gun was pulled out and pointed at the swimmers.
"After getting back into the cab the athletes were confronted by a security guard who asked them to pay for the damage. Veloso said one of the athletes became angry with the guard and at that point the guard pulled a gun on him to “calm him.” He did not say which swimmer had the gun pointed at him and said that the athletes were never threatened. He also said there was no violence. Veloso did not blame the security guard for his actions , saying: “He was doing his job.”"
I did look, they paid 100 reals and 20 dollars to leave. That is like 51 dollars total. But here is the thing, if someone comes up to you with a gun drawn and demands money, that is pretty much the classic example of a robbery, even if there is a legitimate reason to demand the money (which here there might have been to pay for damage caused).
Seems to me, Brasil is doing an awful lot to pass the blame to the Americans, when something shady happened.
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why would they go so far just to cover up they had a fight about a broken bathroom door?
Well, they are known for their athletic ability not for their intellectual ability.
Apparently Lochte made up the robery story on the phone to his mother to cover up for the incident of breaking the bathroom door at the gas station and having to pay for it. The swimmers never initially reported a robery to the police. Lochte's mother told the press after she got off the phone with him, and then of course the police had to investigate it as a robery.
Before the incident had been reported, he had nothing to 'cover up' for his mother. She didn't know anything.
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I agree with what Moranis is saying in this thread.
The whole thing is pretty lame. Even if it is fabricated, are we all now supposed to believe that you are perfectly safe and sound if you are away from the Rio tourist area well after midnight?
Brazil is taking this wayyyy too seriously...because they know they really do have a problem.
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At least to me, its tough to give the benefit of the doubt here to some absolutely hammered twenty & early thirty something males in the wee hours of the morning.
As someone who has been involved in plenty of "drunken" episodes in my younger days, I can totally see these guys coming in to that gas station all hammered and making a scene and p---ing all over the place and getting in an altercation with a security guard. Just acting like complete a holes. The guard pulling his gun might seem a bit extreme to most of us but we're also talking about a foreign country that, unfortunately, has a fair share of problems involving violent crimes. Add in a probable communication problem and you have a recipe for this type of altercation.
If these guys were as blitzed as it sounds like, I'm guessing the recall of the event is pretty p*ss poor on their end even if a gun was pulled on them.
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They made it up because they were ashamed of the gas station incident
Pretty dumb move for anyone to break down someones door
True Brazil has a problem
But it doesn't help that these people are trying incite more fear by making up a robbery not to mention wasting the police's time and effort
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Lochte was really a creep to leave these guys to take the heat.
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Saw this interview from a couple years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnceMoPtVfE
Guy seems like a dolt.
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Lochte was really a creep to leave these guys to take the heat.
He left when he was always scheduled to leave.
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Whoever came up with the Swim Shady moniker is an absolute genius.
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Lochte's statement
“I want to apologize for my behavior last weekend — for not being more careful and candid in how I described the events of that early morning and for my role in taking the focus away from the many athletes fulfilling their dreams of participating in the Olympics. I waited to share these thoughts until it was confirmed that the legal situation was addressed and it was clear that my teammates would be arriving home safely.
It’s traumatic to be out late with your friends in a foreign country – with a language barrier – and have a stranger point a gun at you and demand money to let you leave, but regardless of the behavior of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that I am sorry to my teammates, my fans, my fellow competitors, my sponsors, and the hosts of this great event. I am very proud to represent my country in Olympic competition and this was a situation that could and should have been avoided. I accept responsibility for my role in this happening and have learned some valuable lessons.
I am grateful for my USA Swimming teammates and the USOC, and appreciate all of the efforts of the IOC, the Rio ’16 Host Committee, and the people of Brazil who welcomed us to Rio and worked so hard to make sure that these Olympic Games provided a lifetime of great new memories. There has already been too much said and too many valuable resources dedicated to what happened last weekend, so I hope we spend our time celebrating the great stories and performances of these Games and look ahead to celebrating future successes.”
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Lochte's statement
“I want to apologize for my behavior last weekend — for not being more careful and candid in how I described the events of that early morning and for my role in taking the focus away from the many athletes fulfilling their dreams of participating in the Olympics. I waited to share these thoughts until it was confirmed that the legal situation was addressed and it was clear that my teammates would be arriving home safely.
It’s traumatic to be out late with your friends in a foreign country – with a language barrier – and have a stranger point a gun at you and demand money to let you leave, but regardless of the behavior of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that I am sorry to my teammates, my fans, my fellow competitors, my sponsors, and the hosts of this great event. I am very proud to represent my country in Olympic competition and this was a situation that could and should have been avoided. I accept responsibility for my role in this happening and have learned some valuable lessons.
I am grateful for my USA Swimming teammates and the USOC, and appreciate all of the efforts of the IOC, the Rio ’16 Host Committee, and the people of Brazil who welcomed us to Rio and worked so hard to make sure that these Olympic Games provided a lifetime of great new memories. There has already been too much said and too many valuable resources dedicated to what happened last weekend, so I hope we spend our time celebrating the great stories and performances of these Games and look ahead to celebrating future successes.”
Lawyer speak. Expected.
Americans still participating have to deal with the fall out from this along with the competition...sad.
You can't fix stupid - Ron White.
Rak
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I'm sure its super "traumatic" to get hammered and put yourself in stupid and easily avoidable situations.
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It’s traumatic to be out late with your friends in a foreign country – with a language barrier – and ...
It's not a new experience when you're a 32 year old athlete, who's always competed in an international sport and loves to party.
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I'm sure its super "traumatic" to get hammered and put yourself in stupid and easily avoidable situations.
He was clearly talking about the gun being pointed at him. After all it is in the that sentence.
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I'm sure its super "traumatic" to get hammered and put yourself in stupid and easily avoidable situations.
He was clearly talking about the gun being pointed at him. After all it is in the that sentence.
You missed the gist of what I was getting at there.
Also, given Lochte's eloquence with the English language here & given his past hiccups, I don't think anything that comes from Lochte is "clear".
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I'm sure its super "traumatic" to get hammered and put yourself in stupid and easily avoidable situations.
He was clearly talking about the gun being pointed at him. After all it is in the that sentence.
You missed the gist of what I was getting at there.
Also, given Lochte's eloquence with the English language here & given his past hiccups, I don't think anything that comes from Lochte is "clear".
Don't get me wrong Lochte pulled the classic case of drunken Edited. Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.baggery. He was clearly talking about the gun being pulled on him as the trauma though.
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I'm sure its super "traumatic" to get hammered and put yourself in stupid and easily avoidable situations.
He was clearly talking about the gun being pointed at him. After all it is in the that sentence.
You missed the gist of what I was getting at there.
Also, given Lochte's eloquence with the English language here & given his past hiccups, I don't think anything that comes from Lochte is "clear".
Don't get me wrong Lochte pulled the classic case of drunken ****baggery. He was clearly talking about the gun being pulled on him as the trauma though.
really hard to feel bad for this guy and his 'trauma'.
if he didn't want a security guard pulling a gun on him, perhaps he shouldn't have vandalized the place then refused to pay for the damages.
this is latin america travel 101. when you are in the wrong, you pay the mordita and move on.
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I'm sure its super "traumatic" to get hammered and put yourself in stupid and easily avoidable situations.
He was clearly talking about the gun being pointed at him. After all it is in the that sentence.
You missed the gist of what I was getting at there.
Also, given Lochte's eloquence with the English language here & given his past hiccups, I don't think anything that comes from Lochte is "clear".
Don't get me wrong Lochte pulled the classic case of drunken ****baggery. He was clearly talking about the gun being pulled on him as the trauma though.
really hard to feel bad for this guy and his 'trauma'.
if he didn't want a security guard pulling a gun on him, perhaps he shouldn't have vandalized the place then refused to pay for the damages.
this is latin america travel 101. when you are in the wrong, you pay the mordita and move on.
TP
This quasi-apology makes him sound even worse. Own your mistakes like a man.
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I'm sure its super "traumatic" to get hammered and put yourself in stupid and easily avoidable situations.
He was clearly talking about the gun being pointed at him. After all it is in the that sentence.
You missed the gist of what I was getting at there.
Also, given Lochte's eloquence with the English language here & given his past hiccups, I don't think anything that comes from Lochte is "clear".
Don't get me wrong Lochte pulled the classic case of drunken ****baggery. He was clearly talking about the gun being pulled on him as the trauma though.
really hard to feel bad for this guy and his 'trauma'.
if he didn't want a security guard pulling a gun on him, perhaps he shouldn't have vandalized the place then refused to pay for the damages.
this is latin america travel 101. when you are in the wrong, you pay the mordita and move on.
I don't feel bad for him, but at the same time some minor gas station damage shouldn't get guns drawn on you, especially by people that aren't the police.
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I'm sure its super "traumatic" to get hammered and put yourself in stupid and easily avoidable situations.
He was clearly talking about the gun being pointed at him. After all it is in the that sentence.
You missed the gist of what I was getting at there.
Also, given Lochte's eloquence with the English language here & given his past hiccups, I don't think anything that comes from Lochte is "clear".
Don't get me wrong Lochte pulled the classic case of drunken ****baggery. He was clearly talking about the gun being pulled on him as the trauma though.
really hard to feel bad for this guy and his 'trauma'.
if he didn't want a security guard pulling a gun on him, perhaps he shouldn't have vandalized the place then refused to pay for the damages.
this is latin america travel 101. when you are in the wrong, you pay the mordita and move on.
I don't feel bad for him, but at the same time some minor gas station damage shouldn't get guns drawn on you, especially by people that aren't the police.
In the US, sure. Different cultures have different norms though. You can't travel abroad and get outraged when the locals aren't abiding to American ideals. For example, I regularly drive down to Mexico to surf, and they have these military checkpoints all the along the main highways where teenagers search your car while holding assault rifles. Standard operation, but unnerving every time you drive by one of those bunkers with a machine gun pointed at your rig...
Reality is, in Latin America, those armed guards are there to PROTECT the tourists. Unless of course, said tourists are being complete idiots p---ing all over the place, and trying to dig out without paying for the damage caused.
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Don't go to a foreign country, destroy property, pee all over walls, and you won't get guns drawn on you. That seems like an entirely fair concept to me.
Lochte and his boys may not understand even a single bit of Portuguese, but the language of gun is universal.
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/21/investigation-ryan-lochte-rio-olympics-authorities/89082232/
Story seems to confirm what I thought, the Rio Police made a big stink about this to cover-up some shady actions that happened.
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TP for the link. Seems pretty straight forward to me, here's the crux of that new witnesses story,
Deluz thinks the men understood they were detained because of the damaged sign, as the broken advertisement was shown to them. An athlete even asked him how much he needed to pay, Deluz says. The disc jockey said he conferred with an employee and responded, "One hundred money." When one swimmer finally opened his wallet, it had plenty of cash in it beyond that amount. Had the armed men been robbers, Deluz reasoned, they would have taken all the money.
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TP for the link. Seems pretty straight forward to me, here's the crux of that new witnesses story,
Deluz thinks the men understood they were detained because of the damaged sign, as the broken advertisement was shown to them. An athlete even asked him how much he needed to pay, Deluz says. The disc jockey said he conferred with an employee and responded, "One hundred money." When one swimmer finally opened his wallet, it had plenty of cash in it beyond that amount. Had the armed men been robbers, Deluz reasoned, they would have taken all the money.
sure and prior to that, they had guns drawn on them and they were forcibly stopped from leaving, which that witness also says. In fact, it was when the guns were drawn that he stepped in because he could tell there was clear communication problems and he could see the situation escalating rapidly.
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sure and prior to that, they had guns drawn on them and they were forcibly stopped from leaving, which that witness also says. In fact, it was when the guns were drawn that he stepped in because he could tell there was clear communication problems and he could see the situation escalating rapidly.
I think if those guns were not drawn, they would have left and paid nothing laughing.
Either side of this argument I am sure we all agree Lochte's behavior and his drunken antics caused the incident and not the behavior one expects from an Olympian.
Defenders will say he is young, but he is 32 and hardly the age of youthful indiscretion.
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sure and prior to that, they had guns drawn on them and they were forcibly stopped from leaving, which that witness also says. In fact, it was when the guns were drawn that he stepped in because he could tell there was clear communication problems and he could see the situation escalating rapidly.
I think if those guns were not drawn, they would have left and paid nothing laughing.
Either side of this argument I am sure we all agree Lochte's behavior and his drunken antics caused the incident and not the behavior one expects from an Olympian.
Defenders will say he is young, but he is 32 and hardly the age of youthful indiscretion.
Did you read the article. The guns were drawn after they had already exited the cab after one of the security guards flashed a badge (which they aren't supposed to do when they are working private security).
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Asked whether he alone vandalized the gas station bathroom, Lochte responded that he was in no frame of mind at the time to know for sure.
"I have no idea. I mean, I was very intoxicated. "
http://www.today.com/news/matt-lauer-s-exclusive-interview-ryan-lochte-air-monday-today-t102063
He clearly knows and doesn't know what he needs to know and not know.
Also, from the translater Fernando Deluz:
Deluz said he began to translate when he realized the swimmers did not understand the guards.
"That is when they started saying, 'No police. Please, don't call police!'" said Deluz.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-us-swimmers-rio-gas-station-20160820-story.html
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/21/investigation-ryan-lochte-rio-olympics-authorities/89082232/
Story seems to confirm what I thought, the Rio Police made a big stink about this to cover-up some shady actions that happened.
That's not at all what all sources indicate. Everyone pretty much agrees, even the US, that the US swimmers, particularly Lochte, when on a drunken rampage and vandalized the place, and lied to cover it up. The police and security at the gas station acted very reasonably considering the situation. If it had happened here in the US with Brazilian athletes, they would have been treated far more harshly.
I get that these things happen with young guys, but as other people said, Lochte is in his 30's, its absurd for him to be doing things like this, and then lying about it because he didn't want his mom to find out.
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/21/investigation-ryan-lochte-rio-olympics-authorities/89082232/
Story seems to confirm what I thought, the Rio Police made a big stink about this to cover-up some shady actions that happened.
That's not at all what all sources indicate. Everyone pretty much agrees, even the US, that the US swimmers, particularly Lochte, when on a drunken rampage and vandalized the place, and lied to cover it up. The police and security at the gas station acted very reasonably considering the situation. If it had happened here in the US with Brazilian athletes, they would have been treated far more harshly.
I get that these things happen with young guys, but as other people said, Lochte is in his 30's, its absurd for him to be doing things like this.
"a drunken rampage". Lochte apparently pulled down a loosely hung advertisement and broke it. A couple of the swimmers went pee behind the building. There is no evidence of any kind that the swimmers even entered the restroom let alone damaged anything in it. The translator/witness actually confirms that the only damage referenced by the armed guards was to the sign.
Clearly Lochte was drunk and clearly he broke a sign, but the Rio police absolutely embellished what happened and those same police basically extorted 11,000 from Feigen for a crime that he didn't commit (Feigen never filed a police report so he couldn't have filed a false one).
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/21/investigation-ryan-lochte-rio-olympics-authorities/89082232/
Story seems to confirm what I thought, the Rio Police made a big stink about this to cover-up some shady actions that happened.
That's not at all what all sources indicate. Everyone pretty much agrees, even the US, that the US swimmers, particularly Lochte, when on a drunken rampage and vandalized the place, and lied to cover it up. The police and security at the gas station acted very reasonably considering the situation. If it had happened here in the US with Brazilian athletes, they would have been treated far more harshly.
I get that these things happen with young guys, but as other people said, Lochte is in his 30's, its absurd for him to be doing things like this.
"a drunken rampage". Lochte apparently pulled down a loosely hung advertisement and broke it. A couple of the swimmers went pee behind the building. There is no evidence of any kind that the swimmers even entered the restroom let alone damaged anything in it. The translator/witness actually confirms that the only damage referenced by the armed guards was to the sign.
Clearly Lochte was drunk and clearly he broke a sign, but the Rio police absolutely embellished what happened and those same police basically extorted 11,000 from Feigen for a crime that he didn't commit (Feigen never filed a police report so he couldn't have filed a false one).
Did the brazilian security guards take all their money? No. They asked for fair compensation for the damage they did to the place, knowing full well those guys were never coming back if they left without paying. Did the american swimmers say "no police"? Yes they did. If they though they were being robbed they would have demanded to have the police there, and you know, filed a report.
Different country different laws. You can't call it extortion. When in another country you have to respect their laws just as visitors to our country have to respect our laws. Their police were actually much more laid back about the whole thing than our law enforcement would have been.
If they were really 'robbed' why didn't they actually, you know, file a police report? They were wasted, busted up the place, p---ed everywhere, and paid and lied to cover it up. The brazilian security and gas station staff were ok with that until Lochte lied to his mom and she went to the media. That's life, now they have to own up to it.
Of course Lochte wants to create doubt as much as he can to save his millions in endorsements. I don't see his lesser known teammates who have no endorsements to lose and who he left behind to take the blame insisting it was a robbery.
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Speedo & Ralph Lauren have both dropped Ryan Lochte.
Way to cost yourself a boatload of money, Ryan.
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/21/investigation-ryan-lochte-rio-olympics-authorities/89082232/
Story seems to confirm what I thought, the Rio Police made a big stink about this to cover-up some shady actions that happened.
That's not at all what all sources indicate. Everyone pretty much agrees, even the US, that the US swimmers, particularly Lochte, when on a drunken rampage and vandalized the place, and lied to cover it up. The police and security at the gas station acted very reasonably considering the situation. If it had happened here in the US with Brazilian athletes, they would have been treated far more harshly.
I get that these things happen with young guys, but as other people said, Lochte is in his 30's, its absurd for him to be doing things like this.
"a drunken rampage". Lochte apparently pulled down a loosely hung advertisement and broke it. A couple of the swimmers went pee behind the building. There is no evidence of any kind that the swimmers even entered the restroom let alone damaged anything in it. The translator/witness actually confirms that the only damage referenced by the armed guards was to the sign.
Clearly Lochte was drunk and clearly he broke a sign, but the Rio police absolutely embellished what happened and those same police basically extorted 11,000 from Feigen for a crime that he didn't commit (Feigen never filed a police report so he couldn't have filed a false one).
Did the brazilian security guards take all their money? No. They asked for fair compensation for the damage they did to the place, knowing full well those guys were never coming back if they left without paying. Did the american swimmers say "no police"? Yes they did. If they though they were being robbed they would have demanded to have the police there, and you know, filed a report.
Different country different laws. You can't call it extortion. When in another country you have to respect their laws just as visitors to our country have to respect our laws. Their police were actually much more laid back about the whole thing than our law enforcement would have been.
If they were really 'robbed' why didn't they actually, you know, file a police report? They were wasted, busted up the place, p---ed everywhere, and paid and lied to cover it up. The brazilian security and gas station staff were ok with that until Lochte lied to his mom and she went to the media. That's life, now they have to own up to it.
Of course Lochte wants to create doubt as much as he can to save his millions in endorsements. I don't see his lesser known teammates who have no endorsements to lose and who he left behind to take the blame insisting it was a robbery.
Bentz said his recollection was that money was demanded from the Americans by armed men in order for the swimmers to be allowed to leave.
That does not match the account of Bentz, who said the swimmers were held at gunpoint until they paid. “I gave them what I had in my wallet, which was a $20 bill, and Jimmy gave them 100 reais, which is about $50 in total. They lowered the guns, and I used hand gestures to ask if it was OK to leave, and they said yes,” he said in his statement.
"Two men, whom I believe to have been security guards, then instructed us to exit the vehicle. No guns were drawn during this exchange, but we did see a gun tucked into one of the guard's waistband,” Bentz said. “As Jimmy (Feigen) and Jack (Conger) were walking away from the vehicle, the first security guard held up a badge to me and drew his handgun. I yelled to them to come back toward us, and they complied. Then the second guard drew his weapon and both guards pointed their guns at us and yelled at us to sit on a nearby sidewalk.”
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/21/investigation-ryan-lochte-rio-olympics-authorities/89082232/
Story seems to confirm what I thought, the Rio Police made a big stink about this to cover-up some shady actions that happened.
That's not at all what all sources indicate. Everyone pretty much agrees, even the US, that the US swimmers, particularly Lochte, when on a drunken rampage and vandalized the place, and lied to cover it up. The police and security at the gas station acted very reasonably considering the situation. If it had happened here in the US with Brazilian athletes, they would have been treated far more harshly.
I get that these things happen with young guys, but as other people said, Lochte is in his 30's, its absurd for him to be doing things like this.
"a drunken rampage". Lochte apparently pulled down a loosely hung advertisement and broke it. A couple of the swimmers went pee behind the building. There is no evidence of any kind that the swimmers even entered the restroom let alone damaged anything in it. The translator/witness actually confirms that the only damage referenced by the armed guards was to the sign.
Clearly Lochte was drunk and clearly he broke a sign, but the Rio police absolutely embellished what happened and those same police basically extorted 11,000 from Feigen for a crime that he didn't commit (Feigen never filed a police report so he couldn't have filed a false one).
Did the brazilian security guards take all their money? No. They asked for fair compensation for the damage they did to the place, knowing full well those guys were never coming back if they left without paying. Did the american swimmers say "no police"? Yes they did. If they though they were being robbed they would have demanded to have the police there, and you know, filed a report.
Different country different laws. You can't call it extortion. When in another country you have to respect their laws just as visitors to our country have to respect our laws. Their police were actually much more laid back about the whole thing than our law enforcement would have been.
If they were really 'robbed' why didn't they actually, you know, file a police report? They were wasted, busted up the place, p---ed everywhere, and paid and lied to cover it up. The brazilian security and gas station staff were ok with that until Lochte lied to his mom and she went to the media. That's life, now they have to own up to it.
Of course Lochte wants to create doubt as much as he can to save his millions in endorsements. I don't see his lesser known teammates who have no endorsements to lose and who he left behind to take the blame insisting it was a robbery.
Bentz said his recollection was that money was demanded from the Americans by armed men in order for the swimmers to be allowed to leave.
That does not match the account of Bentz, who said the swimmers were held at gunpoint until they paid. “I gave them what I had in my wallet, which was a $20 bill, and Jimmy gave them 100 reais, which is about $50 in total. They lowered the guns, and I used hand gestures to ask if it was OK to leave, and they said yes,” he said in his statement.
"Two men, whom I believe to have been security guards, then instructed us to exit the vehicle. No guns were drawn during this exchange, but we did see a gun tucked into one of the guard's waistband,” Bentz said. “As Jimmy (Feigen) and Jack (Conger) were walking away from the vehicle, the first security guard held up a badge to me and drew his handgun. I yelled to them to come back toward us, and they complied. Then the second guard drew his weapon and both guards pointed their guns at us and yelled at us to sit on a nearby sidewalk.”
Considering they had already urinated on one wall, tore a picture off another & were about to leave in a drunken haze -- what do you honestly expect that security guard to do? Numbers weren't exactly in his favor; you've got 1 renta-cop vs. 4 world class athletes, led by the 6'2 version of Ememen (aka Swim Shady)
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Sponsorship down the drain
Only things Lotche has left is to win .
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Sponsorship down the drain
Only things Lotche has left is to win .
At his age his international competition career is over. There is no winning left for him to do.
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Sponsorship down the drain
Only things Lotche has left is to win .
At his age his international competition career is over. There is no winning left for him to do.
Maybe he'll try to resurrect his reality TV career.
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Sponsorship down the drain
Only things Lotche has left is to win .
At his age his international competition career is over. There is no winning left for him to do.
Maybe he'll try to resurrect his reality TV career.
He should have his own show on the travel network. World traveler expert guide by Lochte.
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Sponsorship down the drain
Only things Lotche has left is to win .
At his age his international competition career is over. There is no winning left for him to do.
Glad he's getting what he deserves.
He is a man-child who doesn't seem to realize that his actions can impact other people, and even nations; hopefully this will be a nice dose of reality for him, and he'll learn from his mistakes.
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/21/investigation-ryan-lochte-rio-olympics-authorities/89082232/
Story seems to confirm what I thought, the Rio Police made a big stink about this to cover-up some shady actions that happened.
That's not at all what all sources indicate. Everyone pretty much agrees, even the US, that the US swimmers, particularly Lochte, when on a drunken rampage and vandalized the place, and lied to cover it up. The police and security at the gas station acted very reasonably considering the situation. If it had happened here in the US with Brazilian athletes, they would have been treated far more harshly.
I get that these things happen with young guys, but as other people said, Lochte is in his 30's, its absurd for him to be doing things like this.
"a drunken rampage". Lochte apparently pulled down a loosely hung advertisement and broke it. A couple of the swimmers went pee behind the building. There is no evidence of any kind that the swimmers even entered the restroom let alone damaged anything in it. The translator/witness actually confirms that the only damage referenced by the armed guards was to the sign.
Clearly Lochte was drunk and clearly he broke a sign, but the Rio police absolutely embellished what happened and those same police basically extorted 11,000 from Feigen for a crime that he didn't commit (Feigen never filed a police report so he couldn't have filed a false one).
Did the brazilian security guards take all their money? No. They asked for fair compensation for the damage they did to the place, knowing full well those guys were never coming back if they left without paying. Did the american swimmers say "no police"? Yes they did. If they though they were being robbed they would have demanded to have the police there, and you know, filed a report.
Different country different laws. You can't call it extortion. When in another country you have to respect their laws just as visitors to our country have to respect our laws. Their police were actually much more laid back about the whole thing than our law enforcement would have been.
If they were really 'robbed' why didn't they actually, you know, file a police report? They were wasted, busted up the place, p---ed everywhere, and paid and lied to cover it up. The brazilian security and gas station staff were ok with that until Lochte lied to his mom and she went to the media. That's life, now they have to own up to it.
Of course Lochte wants to create doubt as much as he can to save his millions in endorsements. I don't see his lesser known teammates who have no endorsements to lose and who he left behind to take the blame insisting it was a robbery.
Bentz said his recollection was that money was demanded from the Americans by armed men in order for the swimmers to be allowed to leave.
That does not match the account of Bentz, who said the swimmers were held at gunpoint until they paid. “I gave them what I had in my wallet, which was a $20 bill, and Jimmy gave them 100 reais, which is about $50 in total. They lowered the guns, and I used hand gestures to ask if it was OK to leave, and they said yes,” he said in his statement.
"Two men, whom I believe to have been security guards, then instructed us to exit the vehicle. No guns were drawn during this exchange, but we did see a gun tucked into one of the guard's waistband,” Bentz said. “As Jimmy (Feigen) and Jack (Conger) were walking away from the vehicle, the first security guard held up a badge to me and drew his handgun. I yelled to them to come back toward us, and they complied. Then the second guard drew his weapon and both guards pointed their guns at us and yelled at us to sit on a nearby sidewalk.”
Thank you Moranis for being the only logical one in this thread - another TP. Nobody is saying that what they did was okay, but things obviously escalated beyond expectations.
Apparently people think it is normal to tear down a sign and get a gun pointed at you until you give up the money that is in your wallet.
I don't care if people don't like Lochte as a person, but this whole media hype is out of control. The way Matt Laurer berated him in the interview was embarrassing. I don't understand why Lochte and gang are considered such criminals.
Security, Brazilian authorities and representatives, and everybody else's moral high grounds are a bit out of control. Chill, they tore down a freakin' sign...and I hope he does make a ton of money in a reality show.
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... are you kidding? It's "embarrassing" that Lochte was "berated" in the interview after spending several days spreading falsehoods and concocting some fake narrative? You take more issue with the fact that people are upset with him for blatantly lying to them than, you know, the fact that he actually lied. He lied directly to Matt Lauer and NBC in the interview he gave to them early last week and you're mad at Lauer - who actually defended him more than most other media personalities right until Lochte admitted to making up the story - for calling him out for lying.
"Yeah, he only lied to you all, acted like a jackass in a foreign country, poorly represented the US and its Olympic teams, and took the nation's media for fools, the hell are you so ticked off at him for?"
Holy crap. This is the kind of absurd attitude that enables guys like Lochte to pull this crap.
Yeah, Lochte's the real victim here. Oh, please.
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... are you kidding? It's "embarrassing" that Lochte was "berated" in the interview after spending several days spreading falsehoods and concocting some fake narrative? You take more issue with the fact that people are upset with him for blatantly lying to them than, you know, the fact that he actually lied.
"Yeah, he only lied to you all and took you all for fools, the hell are you so ticked off at him for?"
Holy crap. This is the kind of attitude that enables guys like Lochte to pull this crap.
I was just about to say this. This is the exact attitude of entitlement that pretty much lead to this incident. How about don't be a moron and destroy property or p--- all over stuff? Seems like a simple enough concept.
Apparently people think it is normal to tear down a sign and get a gun pointed at you until you give up the money that is in your wallet.
Again, what would have been an alternative measure security could've taken to keep them from leaving without paying for damages? If that didn't happen, Lochte and his posse leaves and the gas station would have to pay for damages. That seems wholly unfair. The fact is Ryan LIED (exaggerated, mis-remembered due to intoxication, whatever you want to sugarcoat it as) about what happened to cover up his bad behavior and then left the country while his teammates dealt with the fallout.
I have to say, I really genuinely wonder what some would say if this was a black athlete that pulled this. Can you imagine if Carmelo (same age as Ryan) went out with Draymond Green and did this? They'd probably be getting ripped a new one by the same people defending Ryan and Co.
The burden of being a white, privileged, male athlete is so difficult and unfair. How dare people expect them to behave like civilized human beings when representing their country abroad?
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You guys must be perfect. I am sorry for not knowing this in advance.
And it's not like he completely made up everything out of thin air. Sure there were exaggerations and what they did was embarrassing, but it's not like nothing happened.
Perhaps I am not articulating myself correctly. If you want to know exactly what I think, go back and read every one of Moranis' posts in this thread. He nailed it.
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... are you kidding? It's "embarrassing" that Lochte was "berated" in the interview after spending several days spreading falsehoods and concocting some fake narrative? You take more issue with the fact that people are upset with him for blatantly lying to them than, you know, the fact that he actually lied. He lied directly to Matt Lauer and NBC in the interview he gave to them early last week and you're mad at Lauer - who actually defended him more than most other media personalities right until Lochte admitted to making up the story - for calling him out for lying.
"Yeah, he only lied to you all, acted like a jackass in a foreign country, poorly represented the US and its Olympic teams, and took the nation's media for fools, the hell are you so ticked off at him for?"
Holy crap. This is the kind of absurd attitude that enables guys like Lochte to pull this crap.
Yeah, Lochte's the real victim here. Oh, please.
Well put, TP.
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You guys must be perfect. I am sorry for not knowing this in advance.
Never really considered myself perfect but if the only standard is having enough respect for someone else's property/livelihood to not literally go p--- all over it, then I guess I'm pretty close.
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Bentz's full statement http://www.georgiadogs.com/sports/c-swim/spec-rel/081916aac.html
Statement by University of Georgia Swimmer Gunnar Bentz
"I want to offer a sincere apology to the United States Olympic Committee, USA Swimming, the extraordinary women and men of Team USA, and the University of Georgia. Being a member of the Olympic Swimming Team was an honor and a dream come true. The accomplishments of my teammates were awe-inspiring and I'm so pleased I got to see them up close. I regret this situation has drawn attention away from the Olympics, which have been hosted so incredibly well by Brazil and its citizens.
"While I am anxious to put this matter behind me and rejoin my Georgia teammates in classes, practices and competitions, I feel compelled to stress several key points.
1. I was never a suspect in the case from the beginning (Brazilian law enforcement officials saw me only as a witness).
2. I never made a false statement to anyone at any time.
"I also want to be forthright about the details of what transpired last Sunday. What follows is consistent with the account I gave to the Brazilian authorities when I was interviewed for the first and only time on Thursday in Rio de Janeiro:
"After attending an event with several swimmers from different nations, I left in a taxicab along with U.S. swimmers Jack Conger, Jimmy Feigen and Ryan Lochte around 6 a.m. On the way back to the Olympic Village, we pulled into a convenience store to use the restroom. There was no restroom inside, so we foolishly relieved ourselves on the backside of the building behind some bushes. There was a locked door out back and I did not witness anyone breaking it open. I am unsure why, but while we were in that area, Ryan pulled to the ground a framed metal advertisement that was loosely anchored to the brick wall. I then suggested to everyone that we needed to leave the area and we returned to the taxi.
"Two men, whom I believe to have been security guards, then instructed us to exit the vehicle. No guns were drawn during this exchange, but we did see a gun tucked into one of the guard's waistband. As Jimmy and Jack were walking away from the vehicle, the first security guard held up a badge to me and drew his handgun. I yelled to them to come back toward us and they complied. Then the second guard drew his weapon and both guards pointed their guns at us and yelled at us to sit on a nearby sidewalk.
"Again, I cannot speak to his actions, but Ryan stood up and began to yell at the guards. After Jack and I both tugged at him in an attempt to get him to sit back down, Ryan and the security guards had a heated verbal exchange, but no physical contact was made.
"A man that I believe to be a customer approached us and offered to help as he spoke both English and Portuguese. Understandably, we were frightened and confused during this time. Through the interpreter, one of the guards said that we needed to pay them in order to leave. I gave them what I had in my wallet, which was a $20 bill, and Jimmy gave them 100 Reals, which is about $50 in total. They lowered the guns and I used hand gestures to ask if it was okay to leave and they said yes. We walked about a block down the street and hailed another taxi to return to the Village.
"Videos of this situation have been emerging the last several days. However, I am confident that some video angles have not been shown that would further substantiate my account. I also believe some scenes have been skipped over. Additionally, I would like to stress that our original taxi was not pulled over; the only occupants of the taxi were the four of us and the driver; and to my knowledge, there was no damage done to the door or the inside of the restroom.
"I am so thankful for the love and support of my family, my friends and my teammates during this time. Without question, I am taking away a valuable life lesson from this situation. In everything I do, I am representing my family, my country and my school. I will not take that responsibility lightly."
-- Gunnar Bentz, Aug. 19, 2016
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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.
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Ryan Lockbrain, is quite possibly the stupidest Olympian or even human being of all time. It's actually impressive.
https://youtu.be/gpBYpwxdyTQ
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His accounting of the event was more accurate than Clinton's tarmac fable. Disqualifying to represent his country in the Olympics, but perhaps he should run for President. The guy won a gold medal, got out of hand celebrating, tried to pull one over and apologized. I'm guessing the faux morals police on here aren't in favor of the death penalty, so that's good news for Lochte.
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Lotche can get a job for "dont drink and visit a gas station" or you will end up like me
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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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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.
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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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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
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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.
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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."
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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.
When does pre-season start?
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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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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.
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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).
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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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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Oh this is absolutely true. Frankly, I'm surprised there weren't more stories of governmental bribes and corruption coming out of the Olympics. Third-World Countries are just different animals entirely.
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I'm sure a court of law in Brazil would think otherwise , and that's all that really matters in this situation. If there was no fabricated robbery story why did each of the swimmers apologize now that they at safely back home? Why do they need to save face if they did nothing wrong but instead were extorted as you claim? Why did their lawyer allow them to pay 11,000 dollars instead of getting them released? Because they broke the laws in a foreign country and they know it.
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I'm sure a court of law in Brazil would think otherwise , and that's all that really matters in this situation. If there was no fabricated robbery story why did each of the swimmers apologize now that they at safely back home? Why do they need to save face if they did nothing wrong but instead were extorted as you claim? Why did their lawyer allow them to pay 11,000 dollars instead of getting them released? Because they broke the laws in a foreign country and they know it.
They apologized for being a distraction which the result of them being drunken morons. I mean here is Feigen's "First and foremost I would like to apologize for the serious distractions from the Olympics, Rio de Janeiro, and Team USA," You notice he never apologized for making anything up, just for being a distraction.
He then goes on to describe the robbery as such "One of my teammates told me that a man with a gun was standing outside 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 teammate 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. I put my hands up and sat down on the curb. It became apparent that the man with the gun was telling us to pay, and I was unsure if they were affiliated with the gas station. Gunnar Bentz and I gave the man some money. "
And for the record, Feigen is the only one that paid anything (other than at the gas station) and he had no passport as it was taken from him. He absolutely could have waited it out or had his lawyers get him out, but by then he would have been free to go anyway but would have been forced to stay in Brasil for at least a month by a corrupt foreign government. It was thus cheaper for him to just pay the fine and leave then find lodging and other accommodations in Rio for a month.
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I'm sure a court of law in Brazil would think otherwise , and that's all that really matters in this situation. If there was no fabricated robbery story why did each of the swimmers apologize now that they at safely back home? Why do they need to save face if they did nothing wrong but instead were extorted as you claim? Why did their lawyer allow them to pay 11,000 dollars instead of getting them released? Because they broke the laws in a foreign country and they know it.
They apologized for being a distraction which the result of them being drunken morons. I mean here is Feigen's "First and foremost I would like to apologize for the serious distractions from the Olympics, Rio de Janeiro, and Team USA," You notice he never apologized for making anything up, just for being a distraction.
He then goes on to describe the robbery as such "One of my teammates told me that a man with a gun was standing outside 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 teammate 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. I put my hands up and sat down on the curb. It became apparent that the man with the gun was telling us to pay, and I was unsure if they were affiliated with the gas station. Gunnar Bentz and I gave the man some money. "
And for the record, Feigen is the only one that paid anything (other than at the gas station) and he had no passport as it was taken from him. He absolutely could have waited it out or had his lawyers get him out, but by then he would have been free to go anyway but would have been forced to stay in Brasil for at least a month by a corrupt foreign government. It was thus cheaper for him to just pay the fine and leave then find lodging and other accommodations in Rio for a month.
Seriously? You think its cheaper to pay 11,000 dollars than to rent an apt in Rio for a month? I mean, rent in Boston, which is very expensive, is about 2000 a month. Your about 9000 off on that estimate. He knew, and his lawyer knew, that the case would get much worse for him if he fought it and it went to court. That's why he paid 11000. That, and because the only wealthy member of the group, and most guilty member, Lochte, had already left the country and left them high and dry.
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I'm sure a court of law in Brazil would think otherwise , and that's all that really matters in this situation. If there was no fabricated robbery story why did each of the swimmers apologize now that they at safely back home? Why do they need to save face if they did nothing wrong but instead were extorted as you claim? Why did their lawyer allow them to pay 11,000 dollars instead of getting them released? Because they broke the laws in a foreign country and they know it.
They apologized for being a distraction which the result of them being drunken morons. I mean here is Feigen's "First and foremost I would like to apologize for the serious distractions from the Olympics, Rio de Janeiro, and Team USA," You notice he never apologized for making anything up, just for being a distraction.
He then goes on to describe the robbery as such "One of my teammates told me that a man with a gun was standing outside 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 teammate 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. I put my hands up and sat down on the curb. It became apparent that the man with the gun was telling us to pay, and I was unsure if they were affiliated with the gas station. Gunnar Bentz and I gave the man some money. "
And for the record, Feigen is the only one that paid anything (other than at the gas station) and he had no passport as it was taken from him. He absolutely could have waited it out or had his lawyers get him out, but by then he would have been free to go anyway but would have been forced to stay in Brasil for at least a month by a corrupt foreign government. It was thus cheaper for him to just pay the fine and leave then find lodging and other accommodations in Rio for a month.
Seriously? You think its cheaper to pay 11,000 dollars than to rent an apt in Rio for a month? I mean, rent in Boston, which is very expensive, is about 2000 a month. Your about 9000 off on that estimate. He knew, and his lawyer knew, that the case would get much worse for him if he fought it and it went to court. That's why he paid 11000. That, and because the only wealthy member of the group, and most guilty member, Lochte, had already left the country and left them high and dry.
to rent a furnished apartment (i.e. a hotel) in a part of town you might actually want to stay, would be very expensive.
Except it wouldn't get much worse. There have been numerous reports from all kinds of Brasilian lawyers that have said, he never filed a false report and thus couldn't be charged for filing one. This was a shakedown. Plain and simple.
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I'm sure a court of law in Brazil would think otherwise , and that's all that really matters in this situation. If there was no fabricated robbery story why did each of the swimmers apologize now that they at safely back home? Why do they need to save face if they did nothing wrong but instead were extorted as you claim? Why did their lawyer allow them to pay 11,000 dollars instead of getting them released? Because they broke the laws in a foreign country and they know it.
They apologized for being a distraction which the result of them being drunken morons. I mean here is Feigen's "First and foremost I would like to apologize for the serious distractions from the Olympics, Rio de Janeiro, and Team USA," You notice he never apologized for making anything up, just for being a distraction.
He then goes on to describe the robbery as such "One of my teammates told me that a man with a gun was standing outside 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 teammate 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. I put my hands up and sat down on the curb. It became apparent that the man with the gun was telling us to pay, and I was unsure if they were affiliated with the gas station. Gunnar Bentz and I gave the man some money. "
And for the record, Feigen is the only one that paid anything (other than at the gas station) and he had no passport as it was taken from him. He absolutely could have waited it out or had his lawyers get him out, but by then he would have been free to go anyway but would have been forced to stay in Brasil for at least a month by a corrupt foreign government. It was thus cheaper for him to just pay the fine and leave then find lodging and other accommodations in Rio for a month.
Seriously? You think its cheaper to pay 11,000 dollars than to rent an apt in Rio for a month? I mean, rent in Boston, which is very expensive, is about 2000 a month. Your about 9000 off on that estimate. He knew, and his lawyer knew, that the case would get much worse for him if he fought it and it went to court. That's why he paid 11000. That, and because the only wealthy member of the group, and most guilty member, Lochte, had already left the country and left them high and dry.
to rent a furnished apartment (i.e. a hotel) in a part of town you might actually want to stay, would be very expensive.
Except it wouldn't get much worse. There have been numerous reports from all kinds of Brasilian lawyers that have said, he never filed a false report and thus couldn't be charged for filing one. This was a shakedown. Plain and simple.
That's just plain inaccurate. A brief google search of rates for furnished apartments and hotel rooms in Rio in safe areas at average prices will quickly show you that your estimate is HUGELY off. Also, if Feigen was sure he would be found innocent, he would also get reimbursed his costs of lodging during the investigation and trial.
Again, Feigen is not wealthy like Lochte, and he had a US lawyer with him. He wasnt shaken down alone by thugs, he was in the custody of law enforcement with a US lawyer by his side. Why in the world would he give up 11000 dollars if he was certain he was innocent and he would go free if he fought it?
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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.
Oh this is absolutely true. Frankly, I'm surprised there weren't more stories of governmental bribes and corruption coming out of the Olympics. Third-World Countries are just different animals entirely.
At least this we can agree on :)
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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.
Oh this is absolutely true. Frankly, I'm surprised there weren't more stories of governmental bribes and corruption coming out of the Olympics. Third-World Countries are just different animals entirely.
At least this we can agree on :)
and then again, maybe less then we would like to think...
http://www.juancole.com/2013/12/corrupt-country-world.html
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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.
Oh this is absolutely true. Frankly, I'm surprised there weren't more stories of governmental bribes and corruption coming out of the Olympics. Third-World Countries are just different animals entirely.
At least this we can agree on :)
1. Brazil isn’t a 3rd world country
2. The US has over twice the incarceration rate of Brazil, so which country's Justice System is better overall is bit more complicated.
Agree a fine of $10,800 for giving police false testimony about a small potatoes incident isn't typical US Justice.
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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.
Oh this is absolutely true. Frankly, I'm surprised there weren't more stories of governmental bribes and corruption coming out of the Olympics. Third-World Countries are just different animals entirely.
At least this we can agree on :)
1. Brazil isn’t a 3rd world country
2. The US has over twice the incarceration rate of Brazil, so which country's Justice System is better overall is bit more complicated.
Agree a fine of $10,800 for giving police false testimony about a small potatoes incident isn't typical US Justice.
Yeah, that was not my intention. What I mean basically is that justice systems in other countries are very variable, and what we interpret as corruption can be the norm in some places. It may also work for them, and they may see our justice system as highly unfair and corrupt. There certainly are many people outside the US that are afraid to come here for the fear of being shot by our citizens or the police. I have lived in several places abroad, and I much prefer our law enforcement and justice systems, but that's not true for many other people.
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It looks like the Brazilian authorities just won't let this go. They just officially charged Lochte with a crime, falsifying a police report, and are requesting that he appears in court:
http://www.boston.com/sports/olympics/2016/08/25/rio-police-charge-lochte-with-false-report-of-robbery
Are those the actions of officials who gave the US swimmers 'a shakedown'? No, more like the actions of authorities who believe the US swimmers tried to get away with a crime.
This CNN article today also states that Feigen falsified testimony to the authorities, and only later on changed it to fit the evidence, which is why he was charged a fine and 15 days of community service which his lawyer negotiated into the 11,000 dollar fine.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/25/americas/ryan-lochte-brazil/index.html
"Feigen said in a statement this week that he was questioned by a detective later that day and gave a statement in which he left out parts about the swimmers urinating behind the building and Lochte pulling down a framed poster.
Days later, as scrutiny on Lochte's story increased, police questioned Feigen again. In his second statement, he gave more details, he said."
This was not 'a shakedown', this was dumb 'youngish' (heck, they weren't even that young) athletes who got caught lying.
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Lochte cleared by a Brasil Appellate Court
http://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/20060411/ryan-lochte-cleared-charge-providing-false-report-incident-rio-olympics
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He's an idiot, but all he did was pee behind some bushes behind a store and knock a sandwich sign off the side of a building while drunk. Dumb, but this should never have turned into an international incident.
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He's an idiot, but all he did was pee behind some bushes behind a store and knock a sandwich sign off the side of a building while drunk. Dumb, but this should never have turned into an international incident.
You're missing the part about him lying about being robbed in Brazil's biggest world stage event on its history. That was a huge offense to Brazilians who live with the threat of robberies and violence every day. It's like a celebrity claiming a hate crime when the person was drunk.
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He's an idiot, but all he did was pee behind some bushes behind a store and knock a sandwich sign off the side of a building while drunk. Dumb, but this should never have turned into an international incident.
You're missing the part about him lying about being robbed in Brazil's biggest world stage event on its history. That was a huge offense to Brazilians who live with the threat of robberies and violence every day. It's like a celebrity claiming a hate crime when the person was drunk.
Brazil authorities were just being super-overly-sensitive because they didn't want the bad press. But, you said it - Brazilians live with the threat of robberies and violence everyday - what's another one? If it singled out a particular individual, that would be one thing, but this went WAY too far. A public apology should have been enough.
Lochte was a drunk idiot, but who hasn't been at some point in their life? This just made them look like they were trying to hide the reality of the crime and corruption in that city - which I now see as a place I would never ever want to visit (and I really enjoy visiting foreign countries).
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He's an idiot, but all he did was pee behind some bushes behind a store and knock a sandwich sign off the side of a building while drunk. Dumb, but this should never have turned into an international incident.
You're missing the part about him lying about being robbed in Brazil's biggest world stage event on its history. That was a huge offense to Brazilians who live with the threat of robberies and violence every day. It's like a celebrity claiming a hate crime when the person was drunk.
Brazil authorities were just being super-overly-sensitive because they didn't want the bad press. But, you said it - Brazilians live with the threat of robberies and violence everyday - what's another one? If it singled out a particular individual, that would be one thing, but this went WAY too far. A public apology should have been enough.
Lochte was a drunk idiot, but who hasn't been at some point in their life? This just made them look like they were trying to hide the reality of the crime and corruption in that city - which I now see as a place I would never ever want to visit (and I really enjoy visiting foreign countries).
I agree with some respect but again, it's sort of like somebody saying they suffered a hate crime here in the US. That is a touchy subject and if it does happen, there is outrage. However, if it was manufactured, then you can't say "well, there's racism in the US, why get upset over another one". Especially since foreigners are typically in safe zones and being on the world stage, it makes the whole country look bad. Brazilians put up with a lot, but they are an overwhelmingly happy people that prefers to take matters internally. People are aware of what they should and shouldn't do, but even with the difficulty, they don't project it to others and celebrate life.
However, just like any other organization, the leaders can definitely take it too far. I believe that Brazilians were p---ed at him and we're demanding an apology. Once they got that, they moved on. Then it became more of the judicial system vs. Lochte, which at that point people weren't paying attention and moved on to the rest of the Olympics.
Last point, I do recommend visiting Brazil. The main cities are interesting but more touristy. Outside the cities you'll find amazing beaches, forests, historical cities and a welcoming people that is very different from Rio and São Paulo.
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He's an idiot, but all he did was pee behind some bushes behind a store and knock a sandwich sign off the side of a building while drunk. Dumb, but this should never have turned into an international incident.
You're missing the part about him lying about being robbed in Brazil's biggest world stage event on its history. That was a huge offense to Brazilians who live with the threat of robberies and violence every day. It's like a celebrity claiming a hate crime when the person was drunk.
He was detained by men with guns and money was demanded. Every single report, including by the witnesses confirms this. If you are drunk at 5 am and don't understand the language, that pretty easily could be described as a robbery.