Olympians allegedly robbed in Rio, police uncover a different story

ssteve · Thu Aug 18, 2016 10:07 pm

I think it's got a fair chance of characterizing how these games are remembered by americans.. Women's gymnastics, swimming... great. Soccer, bad. Hooligan shakedown at the gas station... bad.

PacificBeach88 · Thu Aug 18, 2016 10:11 pm

ssteve wrote:
I think it's got a fair chance of characterizing how these games are remembered by americans.. Women's gymnastics, swimming... great. Soccer, bad. Hooligan shakedown at the gas station... bad.

Agreed!!!!!

Klaus · Thu Aug 18, 2016 10:34 pm

Wow. The ongoing contortions here are absolutely medal-worthy.

Tugger · Thu Aug 18, 2016 10:45 pm

Klaus wrote:
Wow. The ongoing contortions here are absolutely medal-worthy.

I actually think there may be contortions on both sides.
But we really need to hear from all involved first to learn more on this. Right now though, there are unnecessary contortions going on and with a ferocity and certainty that is unearned if not impossible to justify.

Tugg

salttee · Thu Aug 18, 2016 11:29 pm

I don't blame the Brazilians for being pissed.
Those arrogant first world twits should be made to go before a Brazilian judge and apologize.

ikramerica · Fri Aug 19, 2016 12:57 am

How is this not extortion? I'm not excusing alleged damage to a bathroom assuming that they even did it and/or it was intentional -again alleged as not even the police seem to have confirmed that the damage was done by them, and it's not proven by any court, not officially reported to any police directly by any victim - but that doesn't immediately escalate to holding people at gunpoint until you get the amount of money you claim you deserve. Sounds very extortiony.

From the AP:

"Police said the athletes ultimately gave money -- "voluntarily" -- to the owner of the gas station to repair the alleged damages. Asked if the use of a gun could have been seen by the swimmers as an extortion attempt, da Silva Veloso said "For now, there's nothing that indicates this."

The police chief, however, left open the door that the use of a weapon could have been seen by the Olympians as being excessive behavior.

"Maybe yes, maybe no. It depends on the circumstance," said da Silva Veloso, who declined to identify the security guards."

The police and investigators admit that the four were threatened with guns, forced to pay money, then allowed to leave by police of some kind, who never filed a report. In addition, Lochte and idiot friends also never filed a report until actively pursued and questioned by the police. When their recollection of scary events that happened while drunk didn't 100% match each other, they were basically entrapped.

While the swimmers look very stupid (and by all historical accounts, Lochte is indeed pretty stupid), Brazil still looks bad here. Very bad. Might as well put up a red flashing sign that says "young single tourists stay away."

What Brazilian authorities should have done is stopped being prideful and started being smart. This is what SHOULD have happened. A statement such as this:

"After investigating the alleged incident, it has become clear that after property was allegedly damaged by the four people in question, they were detained against their will, at gunpoint in what was a frightening and tense situation for them, and ultimately made to turn over money. While this does not fit the definition of a robbery, it is also unacceptable. We are a welcoming city and country, a country of laws, not vigilanteism. We believe the 4 olympians in question should be accountable for their actions, but so should those who chose to escalate a minor incident into a dangerous situation, one where someone might very easily have been hurt or killed."

salttee · Fri Aug 19, 2016 1:43 am

ikramerica wrote:
Brazil still looks bad here. Very bad. Might as well put up a red flashing sign that says "young single tourists stay away."

I don't see it that way at all. Maybe at the American office that issues passports there should be a sign saying "if you want to go to a third world country and act tough while trashing the place, you should expect to get you're ass kicked, robbed and left by the side of the road bleeding. If you don't agree with or understand that, you better not use any passport obtained here to travel to third world countries".

ikramerica wrote:
What Brazilian authorities should have done is stopped being prideful and started being smart. This is what SHOULD have happened.

You are a prime example of someone who should never travel abroad. You should just stay in your ivory tower on this side of the border.

ltbewr · Fri Aug 19, 2016 2:09 am

Sadly, our media plays out this story of shame and stupidity, while other American athletes, like the 3 American women who won the 110 m Hurdles Gold - Silver - Bronze don't get the attention they should have got.
As I noted earlier, all 4 will likely lose sponsorships and endorsements, possibly thrown off the team and face shame forever on the internet for their stupidity. I wonder if the USOC should consider some tighter rules and curfews on all participating athletes, coaches and staff to reduce the risks of getting into trouble and embarrassing our country.

PPVRA · Fri Aug 19, 2016 3:15 am

ikramerica wrote:
"After investigating the alleged incident, it has become clear that after property was allegedly damaged by the four people in question, they were detained against their will, at gunpoint in what was a frightening and tense situation for them, and ultimately made to turn over money. While this does not fit the definition of a robbery, it is also unacceptable. We are a welcoming city and country, a country of laws, not vigilanteism. We believe the 4 olympians in question should be accountable for their actions, but so should those who chose to escalate a minor incident into a dangerous situation, one where someone might very easily have been hurt or killed."

The security guy pulled his gun because the four athletes were far bigger than him and extremely inebriated.

ssteve · Fri Aug 19, 2016 3:48 am

It's a good thing a cohort of Andrew Jacksons were able to mollify the security guy. He could've gotten hurt!

Tugger · Fri Aug 19, 2016 5:24 am

PPVRA wrote:
The security guy pulled his gun because the four athletes were far bigger than him and extremely inebriated.

The thing is we just don't know that. Neither you nor I know what actually occurred that night/morning. You are miking it up as much as others here. The video that is so condemning also does not show people acting with such inebriation as you describe.

Or at least that is what it appears.

To me. At this time.... since I don;t have much in the wa' of actual facts that can be independently verified.

But I am confident that more will come out.

Tugg

moo · Fri Aug 19, 2016 7:50 am

Looks like the US Olympic Committee accepts the police version of events.

Working in collaboration with the U.S. Consulate in Rio, we have coordinated the athletes’ cooperation with local authorities and ensured their safety throughout the process, but we have not seen the full statements provided by Bentz and Conger.

However, we understand that they describe the events that many have seen on surveillance video made publicly available today. As we understand it, the four athletes (Bentz, Conger, Feigen and Ryan Lochte) left France House early in the morning of August 14 in a taxi headed to the Olympic Village. They stopped at a gas station to use the restroom, where one of the athletes committed an act of vandalism. An argument ensued between the athletes and two armed gas station security staff, who displayed their weapons, ordered the athletes from their vehicle and demanded the athletes provide a monetary payment. Once the security officials received money from the athletes, the athletes were allowed to leave.

The behavior of these athletes is not acceptable, nor does it represent the values of Team USA or the conduct of the vast majority of its members. We will further review the matter, and any potential consequences for the athletes, when we return to the United States.

On behalf of the United States Olympic Committee, we apologize to our hosts in Rio and the people of Brazil for this distracting ordeal in the midst of what should rightly be a celebration of excellence.

http://www.teamusa.org/Media/News/USOC/081816-Statement

And certain people in this thread will still excuse the athletes and insist the locals are guilty of some crime. I can see the above series of events play out at a gas station in the US quite easily - someone broke something, and after the threat of police, an agreement was come to and the matter considered closed. But to some, apparently thats extortion or a shakedown - shouldnt have done the damage then, should they?

scbriml · Fri Aug 19, 2016 8:16 am

I see some here are still swimming determinedly against the tide.

Meanwhile, USOC aplogises for the athletes' behaviour and the US press lets loose with both barrels:

Slate:
"Maybe he's just a lunk, or a doofus, or a Faulknerian idiot man-child, or the real-world analogue of Moose from Archie. There are all sorts of unflattering descriptors that might apply to Ryan Lochte."

Washington Post:
"There is a special category of obnoxious American 'bro' that Lochte represents, in his T-shirt and jeans and expensive suede footwear, which he showed off on Instagram that night at the party along with the price tag. 'We're 6k deep here,' he captioned it. Is there anything worse, in any country, than a bunch of entitled young drunks who break the furniture and pee on a wall?"

San Francisco Chronicle:
"It doesn't matter what else Lochte has done in his Olympic career. This cemented his legacy: most embarrassing Olympic athlete."

New York Post:
"He cried wolf and was called on it, and that will be his burden to bear for a good long while - but not his alone. The Ugly American is alive and well in 2016 thanks to this dope."

Aaron747 · Fri Aug 19, 2016 8:38 am

Faulknerian idiot man-child, LOL. Usual affluenza-afflicted moron, basically - who believes he's God's gift to women by virtue of being somewhat good-looking. Worst possible combination...

Then again, see plenty of people who fit the above making trouble over here, trouble is they are mostly USMC, which is more embarrassing than wayward Olympians.

moo · Fri Aug 19, 2016 9:47 am

A US Olympic swimmer has agreed to pay $11,000 to a Brazilian charity over his involvement in a false story about an armed robbery at the Rio games.

Jimmy Feigen was one of four gold medallists, along with star Ryan Lochte, who hit the headlines after Mr Lochte said the group had been robbed.

But CCTV footage later showed the story had been invented after the swimmers vandalised a petrol station.

Mr Lochte left Brazil on Tuesday but Mr Feigen stayed behind and was detained.

The two other members of the group, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, were pulled off a flight in Rio on Thursday night and questioned by police.

They deny any involvement in the false robbery claim and were allowed to leave the US on a later flight.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-37130024

moo · Fri Aug 19, 2016 11:31 am

scbriml wrote:
E2 wrote:
So no sex, no drugs, no crooked cops, just too much booze on a night out.

Quite possibly. So why fabricate the whole robbery story and involve the police before doing a runner?

As more and more of the story comes out, the time line suggests that the swimmers never involved the police - Ryan Lochte tells his mother they were robbed, in turn the mother tells the US media the group were robbed, the swimmers are then asked about it by the US media and they give an account of being robbed, the local police pick up on media reports and start investigating (as a robbery of an olympic team doesn't look good, especially when its already been picked up by the media).

Once the police get involved, the swimmers accounts break down immediately (police say there are inconsistencies in the stories the day after it was first reported in the media) and then the truth starts to come out (the CCTV of them entering back into the olympic village is released, time stamps and behaviour show inconsistencies, then the CCTV of the garage emerges...)

It didn't take long for the police to deconstruct the swimmers accounts and uncover an entirely different set of events - 4 days from initial report to the truth being accepted publicly by the US Olympic team bosses, the US and world media, and at least one of the swimmers themselves (the other two have been released as having nothing to do with the lie), but only 24 hours between initial report to the story falling apart, another 24 hours to Judges getting involved, passports being seized and serious questions being asked.

All this from telling your mom a little white lie...

Redd · Fri Aug 19, 2016 1:12 pm

One runs into these jackass 'bro-type' Americans everywhere. These guys need a good kick in the nuts and a night spent in a foreign jail cell to humble them up and get rid of their superiority complex. Good Americans traveling around the world have to suffer a bad rep because of idiots like this. I don't think Brazil is doing anything wrong and I hope they go through their due legal process without bowing to American pressure. These American types should not consider themselves above the law when traveling abroad. "But I'm American" is no excuse.

moo · Fri Aug 19, 2016 2:34 pm

Ryan Lochte apologises for his behaviour in Rio.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-37134521

Acheron · Fri Aug 19, 2016 2:40 pm

ITT: Americans can do no wrong, and if they do, they are just having a bit of fun and everybody else is overeacting.

Of course if, lets say, Chinese athletes pulled something like this in the US, the same people defending these guys would be asking to nuke Beijing.

scbriml · Fri Aug 19, 2016 2:53 pm

moo wrote:
Ryan Lochte apologises for his behaviour in Rio.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-37134521

Better late than never, I guess. Had they apologised and made a charitable donation whilst still in Rio before the whole thing blew up in their faces, they might have come out of this sordid saga with a little credit.

usflyer msp · Fri Aug 19, 2016 3:21 pm

Lochte is only sorry he got called out on his nonsense for once. He is 32 going on 5. He needs to let his testicles finally drop and grow the hell up!

OA412 · Fri Aug 19, 2016 3:21 pm

Ryan Lochte is dumb as rocks, and has always been an embarrassment. He's also an awful person who got the hell out of dodge, leaving his teammates to clean up the mess he'd help make. From his stupid grille to the idiotic catchphrase he tried to start, he's always come across as a jackass. But it's been funny to watch people explain away his poor behavior as "boys will be boys" while Gabby Douglas was raked over the coals for doing nothing wrong. Ryan Lochte is a grown-ass 31-year-old man. Boys will be boys is a poor excuse. #WhiteMalePrivilege

usflyer msp wrote:
Lochte is only sorry he got called out on his nonsense for once. He is 32 going on 5. He needs to let is his testicles finally drop and grow the hell up!

This!

Tugger · Fri Aug 19, 2016 6:31 pm

usflyer msp wrote:
Lochte is only sorry he got called out on his nonsense for once. He is 32 going on 5. He needs to let his testicles finally drop and grow the hell up!

"But its all Phelps fault, Michael ruined my dreams and my life taking all the medals I should have won. I deserve more.... Wahhhh!!!!"
We need the old emoticons back, where is the "hissyfit" when you need it.

Tugg

PPVRA · Fri Aug 19, 2016 6:38 pm

Tugger wrote:
PPVRA wrote:
The security guy pulled his gun because the four athletes were far bigger than him and extremely inebriated.

The thing is we just don't know that. Neither you nor I know what actually occurred that night/morning. You are miking it up as much as others here. The video that is so condemning also does not show people acting with such inebriation as you describe.

Or at least that is what it appears.

To me. At this time.... since I don;t have much in the wa' of actual facts that can be independently verified.

But I am confident that more will come out.

Tugg

It's what the judge said. Apparently the gun was only pulled when they tried to run away.

Furthermore, the 4 requested the police NOT be called.

This whole thing has been just really stupid. If Ryan had just kept his mouth shut, there would have been no issue. Seems like the gas station guys were happy with the little money they got from these guys and then they went on their way.

coolian2 · Fri Aug 19, 2016 8:18 pm

I once had a pretty minor car crash, that I had to accept fault on. It seems rough to accept fault when someone cuts you off and then stands on the brakes, but once you run up the back of someone, you've had it.

We agreed to a cash settlement once he got a quote for the damage. The only reason I ended up dealing with it through my insurer is because he went to his panelbeater mate and tried to stitch me up.

These guys being stitched up (and really, they got themselves into the situation) is no surprise.

Tugger · Sat Aug 20, 2016 6:12 am

PPVRA wrote:
Tugger wrote:
PPVRA wrote:
The security guy pulled his gun because the four athletes were far bigger than him and extremely inebriated.

The thing is we just don't know that. Neither you nor I know what actually occurred that night/morning. You are miking it up as much as others here. The video that is so condemning also does not show people acting with such inebriation as you describe.

Or at least that is what it appears.

To me. At this time.... since I don;t have much in the wa' of actual facts that can be independently verified.

But I am confident that more will come out.

Tugg

It's what the judge said. Apparently the gun was only pulled when they tried to run away.

Furthermore, the 4 requested the police NOT be called.

This whole thing has been just really stupid. If Ryan had just kept his mouth shut, there would have been no issue. Seems like the gas station guys were happy with the little money they got from these guys and then they went on their way.

So there is more to the story and as I was suspecting the truth is somewhere between what has been said so far.

Bentz' version largely supports what Lochte has asserted about the swimmers being in a cab that was approached by armed men who flashed a badge and pointed guns at them, but his statement also rejected Lochte's initial version. And Bentz was critical of Lochte, who Bentz said got into a “heated verbal exchange” with security guards.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ol ... /89025944/

Lochte is an idiot, and started this by not just coming clean when his mom shouted out the story he made up for her.

Lochte is an idiot (did I mention that?)

Tugg

scbriml · Sat Aug 20, 2016 11:32 am

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-37140611

They handed the guards about $50 (£38) in a mix of US and Brazilian currency, and then they left

So we've now moved from "being robbed at gunpoint by fake police" and "having all their money extorted from them" to the four of them rustling up $50 in cash to pay for their misdemeanour. :lol:

incitatus · Sat Aug 20, 2016 1:31 pm

Lochte reminds me of 16-year old Americans that go to Mexico on Spring Break, get drunk, screw up, then get jailed and Daddy has to fly in to get them out. Except Lochte is 32. Then insisting so much on a lie after it had fallen apart is so sleazy. Women beware!

Brazil is more dangerous than the US and the law is applied with less consistency. The behavior of people on the other side of small crimes is different because people know the police is either corrupt or has bigger fish to fry. In this case, it would have been a more fun story if the gas station had called the police to arrest them.

mham001 · Sat Aug 20, 2016 5:50 pm

Tugger wrote:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ol ... /89025944/

Lochte is an idiot, and started this by not just coming clean when his mom shouted out the story he made up for her.

Lochte is an idiot (did I mention that?)

Tugg

Ha, they weren't even in the bathroom.

The whole thing stinks, they are all lying, there are no good guys in this story. Unfortunately, the average Brazilian will not see that and we all look bad here.

PPVRA · Sat Aug 20, 2016 6:13 pm

mham001 wrote:
Tugger wrote:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ol ... /89025944/

Lochte is an idiot, and started this by not just coming clean when his mom shouted out the story he made up for her.

Lochte is an idiot (did I mention that?)

Tugg

Ha, they weren't even in the bathroom.

The whole thing stinks, they are all lying, there are no good guys in this story. Unfortunately, the average Brazilian will not see that and we all look bad here.

They vandalized a sign, which I assume was outside the bathroom. So whether they even made it to the bathroom or not would not be relevant.

FYI this doesn't upset me. It's too dumb to upset me. The only ones that look bad is Lochte and his 3 foolish friends.

JJJ · Sat Aug 20, 2016 7:15 pm

incitatus wrote:
Brazil is more dangerous than the US and the law is applied with less consistency. The behavior of people on the other side of small crimes is different because people know the police is either corrupt or has bigger fish to fry. In this case, it would have been a more fun story if the gas station had called the police to arrest them.

Sure it would have been. However I doubt the story would have played any different in the US or any other developed country for that matter.

- Drunk people break something on a store.
- Security at the store says "you gonna pay for that or I'm calling the cops".
- Said drunk coughs up or faces arrest (or worse).

EA CO AS · Sun Aug 21, 2016 7:39 am

JJJ wrote:
incitatus wrote:
Brazil is more dangerous than the US and the law is applied with less consistency. The behavior of people on the other side of small crimes is different because people know the police is either corrupt or has bigger fish to fry. In this case, it would have been a more fun story if the gas station had called the police to arrest them.

Sure it would have been. However I doubt the story would have played any different in the US or any other developed country for that matter.

- Drunk people break something on a store.
- Security at the store says "you gonna pay for that or I'm calling the cops".
- Said drunk coughs up or faces arrest (or worse).

In the U.S. you'd be arrested for pulling a gun on someone who tried to leave your store after breaking something. Call the cops, sure - but you only pull a gun to defend yourself, not to keep someone from leaving the scene.

JJJ · Sun Aug 21, 2016 8:47 am

EA CO AS wrote:
JJJ wrote:
incitatus wrote:
Brazil is more dangerous than the US and the law is applied with less consistency. The behavior of people on the other side of small crimes is different because people know the police is either corrupt or has bigger fish to fry. In this case, it would have been a more fun story if the gas station had called the police to arrest them.

Sure it would have been. However I doubt the story would have played any different in the US or any other developed country for that matter.

- Drunk people break something on a store.
- Security at the store says "you gonna pay for that or I'm calling the cops".
- Said drunk coughs up or faces arrest (or worse).

In the U.S. you'd be arrested for pulling a gun on someone who tried to leave your store after breaking something. Call the cops, sure - but you only pull a gun to defend yourself, not to keep someone from leaving the scene.

They break something, most shops have a you break it you pay it policy, then it's shopkeeper's privilege which varies a lot from place to place but basically yes, they can detain you.

The security guard felt threatened by a group of tall, athletic youths behaving erratically so there's a hint of personal self-defence there, too. In any case it's irrelevant whether they were threatened with a gun or with, say, a taser or a baton except to imply they might have gotten away with it. They're welcome to try the Brazilian justice system if they felt so aggravated by the event.

PacificBeach88 · Mon Aug 22, 2016 1:52 am

Looks like the Brazilian cops lied / were less than truthful now about the incident as well.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ol ... /89082232/

incitatus · Mon Aug 22, 2016 2:08 am

PacificBeach88 wrote:
Looks like the Brazilian cops lied / were less than truthful now about the incident as well.

This article doesn't even match Lochte's own account to Matt Lauer. After Lochte said he exaggerated his story, Matt pressed him and he admitted making it up, which is not the same. Lochte made his initial story up and it snowballed from there. Amazing he believed he was going to get away with it.

scbriml · Mon Aug 22, 2016 4:16 pm

PacificBeach88 wrote:
Looks like the Brazilian cops lied / were less than truthful now about the incident as well.

Wait, three days ago, you said...

PacificBeach88 wrote:
This is a 24 to 48 news story at most in the USA.

Speedo drop Lochte

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37159288

Speedo said it would donate a $50,000 portion of Lochte's sponsorship fee to the charity Save The Children's Brazilian operation.

EA CO AS · Mon Aug 22, 2016 5:58 pm

While Lochte certainly exaggerated, we're once again talking about a gas station bathroom in Rio. I'm guessing it wasn't in pristine condition to begin with, but let's put that aside. I've had my fair share of shakedowns in third-world countries, and each time they go something like this: someone (police, or someone threatening to call police) says you've done X, and X can just go away and no jail comes into play if you only give them Y, which tends to be whatever cash you have on you. Sometimes the person has a gun, sometimes they don't, but the implied threat of violence and/or jail is always there, and it always seems to all be a matter of money making it all better.

I simply look at it as part of the cost of doing business in such places, but to most, we'd call it what it really is - a robbery.

And that's ultimately what happened here. No one would know about it or care if not for Lochte's mom shooting off her mouth.

OA412 · Mon Aug 22, 2016 6:41 pm

I've noticed multiple people here and elsewhere referring to Brazil as a third-world country. Brazil is not the third world.

JJJ · Mon Aug 22, 2016 6:44 pm

EA CO AS wrote:
each time they go something like this: someone (police, or someone threatening to call police) says you've done X, and X can just go away and no jail comes into play if you only give them Y, which tends to be whatever cash you have on you. Sometimes the person has a gun, sometimes they don't, but the implied threat of violence and/or jail is always there, and it always seems to all be a matter of money making it all better.

You know, something that matches exactly that happened to me driving between Houston and Dallas by a local cop.

Except it was just 100$ (I still had to drive, escorted, to an ATM to get them). No receipt or ticket of any kind.

Even in Morocco or Ukraine (to name two places I had a similar thing happening to me) at least they make a show of giving you an official-looking piece of paper.

scbriml · Mon Aug 22, 2016 7:13 pm

EA CO AS wrote:
No one would know about it or care if not for Lochte's mom shooting off her mouth.

Yeah, it's all her fault. Those lying athletes had nothing to do with it. :lol:

Ralph Loren join the "drop Lochte" stampede.

EA CO AS · Mon Aug 22, 2016 7:33 pm

JJJ wrote:
You know, something that matches exactly that happened to me driving between Houston and Dallas by a local cop.

Except it was just 100$ (I still had to drive, escorted, to an ATM to get them).

I had this occur in Puerto Penasco, Mexico a few years back; myself and two friends were told we needed to pay $200 or go to jail. Our "crime" was accidentally backing into a barrier wall around a parking lot and cracking the cinder blocks, a repair that would have cost MAYBE $50 to take care of in the U.S. and even less in Mexico.

Since we didn't have it on us, we were told where an ATM was, and were instructed to leave one of our friends behind as "collateral" while we got the money.

PacificBeach88 · Mon Aug 22, 2016 7:38 pm

EA CO AS wrote:
While Lochte certainly exaggerated, we're once again talking about a gas station bathroom in Rio. I'm guessing it wasn't in pristine condition to begin with, but let's put that aside. I've had my fair share of shakedowns in third-world countries, and each time they go something like this: someone (police, or someone threatening to call police) says you've done X, and X can just go away and no jail comes into play if you only give them Y, which tends to be whatever cash you have on you. Sometimes the person has a gun, sometimes they don't, but the implied threat of violence and/or jail is always there, and it always seems to all be a matter of money making it all better.

I simply look at it as part of the cost of doing business in such places, but to most, we'd call it what it really is - a robbery.

And that's ultimately what happened here. No one would know about it or care if not for Lochte's mom shooting off her mouth.

Did you see the photo of the bathroom? The police lied that the soap dispenser and mirror were broken, as USA Today showed they were not broken, and they were far from new (meaning they couldn't have been replaced.) As if you could really do that much damage in this craptastic bathroom even if you wanted to. And even though the video cams also prove the swimmers never went into the bathrooms in the first place.

PacificBeach88 · Mon Aug 22, 2016 8:53 pm

OA412 wrote:
I've noticed multiple people here and elsewhere referring to Brazil as a third-world country. Brazil is not the third world.

Officially, it's essentially a "2nd world country" or developing industrial economy. That said, given Brazil's plunge in economy over the past 24 months, and it's advancement to the #1 murder country of 1st / 2nd world countries doesn't help its cause.

Also, http://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings.jsp shows that Rio has a crime and murder rate has a worse rate than the highest US rate in Detroit. I doubt if I dropped you or a Japanese tourist, or a European into Compton, you'd be favorable to say it wasn't a "sh**hole". *shrug* We all compare where we come from to where we are.

Add things like Zika to the list. Human excrement that is a hazard to human life in many of the outdoor venues for athletes. Very unflattering corruption stories on infrastructure. Human semen stains on Olympic Village "clean sheets" for guests. Firefighters meeting international visitors at the airport saying they haven't been paid in weeks, and therefore won't help. Random gun shots / bullet holes in the Olympic Village dwellings.....well....you get my point.

The 2020 Olympics are in Tokyo. My guess is we won't see a summer games again outside of eastern / SE Asia or North America for awhile. Europe might get the games again in 2028 or 2032. That said, the Olympic committee is pissed that the USA is being so strict with doping regulations, which puts the Olympics into FIFA if they deny Los Angeles the 2024 Olympics.

incitatus · Mon Aug 22, 2016 10:03 pm

EA CO AS wrote:
While Lochte certainly exaggerated, we're once again talking about a gas station bathroom in Rio.

Lochte did not "exaggerate". He made a story up that had nothing to do with what happened. And he just lost his Speedos....

You guys are so concerned about details of what got broken and what did not, but details on what Lochte did after the event you are being very forgiving.

PacificBeach88 · Mon Aug 22, 2016 10:16 pm

EA CO AS wrote:

I had this occur in Puerto Penasco, Mexico a few years back; myself and two friends were told we needed to pay $200 or go to jail. Our "crime" was accidentally backing into a barrier wall around a parking lot and cracking the cinder blocks, a repair that would have cost MAYBE $50 to take care of in the U.S. and even less in Mexico.

Since we didn't have it on us, we were told where an ATM was, and were instructed to leave one of our friends behind as "collateral" while we got the money.

Agreed. I've had a female hooker try to pull this nonsense on more than one occasion even though I'm gay. I've had to roll my eyes and pay the Costa Rican traffic police $20 inside my passport for speeding by less than 6 KPH.. I've had to pay the Czech cab guy an extra $10 - $15 US, even though I know it's BS. I've had to pay the Bosnian border guy/gay $50 to "excuse" my lack of appropriate visa, even though it was 100% legal. I've lived in Argentina for 6 months and traveled all over S. America, not to mention my time in Asia. It's all a game. You pick your battles, and they know this. If they push for too much $$$ then they know they are screwed.

Sadly for Lochte, Speedo and the other corporate leeches realized they had a perfect time to get rid of a contractual obligation. Ryan is now 32, and will not be swimming professionally *cough* never mind *cough* at an "amateur" level anymore so used their lawyers and contracting agents to dump him. Who needs an "old" washed up swimmer,, if you can invoke a legalistic loophole to dump him, since he's past his prime.

Klaus · Mon Aug 22, 2016 11:28 pm

PacificBeach88 wrote:
Sadly for Lochte, Speedo and the other corporate leeches realized they had a perfect time to get rid of a contractual obligation. Ryan is now 32, and will not be swimming professionally *cough* never mind *cough* at an "amateur" level anymore so used their lawyers and contracting agents to dump him. Who needs an "old" washed up swimmer,, if you can invoke a legalistic loophole to dump him, since he's past his prime.

That is complete nonsense as demonstrated by plenty of lucrative post-career endorsements in all kinds of sports.

Other athletes keep raking in the money long after they've retired. The same could have been the case for Lochte, and likely would have.

What you keep denying here is that Ryan Lochte has just now made himself ultra-toxic for any brand endorsement by simply inventing a wild story based on pejorative stereotypes about the country hosting the current Olympics and trying to lie his way out of the mess he himself had provoked (which is undeniably confirmed by now) even after everybody was already on to him.

And what makes your own position in this thread so difficult here is that you are trying to prove that Brazil was an absolutely shitty country that just deserved any abuse which in your view somehow excused Lochte's lies.

And you don't even seem to notice the irony in the context of your own complaint upthread about having been ethnically singled out and mistreated yourself while eagerly tarring the whole of Brazil with Lochte's brush.

PacificBeach88 · Mon Aug 22, 2016 11:39 pm

EA CO AS wrote:
In the U.S. you'd be arrested for pulling a gun on someone who tried to leave your store after breaking something. Call the cops, sure - but you only pull a gun to defend yourself, not to keep someone from leaving the scene.

I have found it interesting that so many of the Europeans who decry and despise every gun related incident in the USA, refuse to even acknowledge a gun/guns were brandished at these athletes. They act as if it never happened.

The USA Today story, had some chilling quotes.

"It is clear from all accounts that a Portuguese-English language barrier played a major role in the incident and that a bilingual Brazilian witness who stepped forward at the scene was critical in preventing a tense situation from escalating.

The witness, Fernando Deluz, says he got involved after one of the guards (off duty policeman) pulled a gun on the men.

"As soon as they drew their weapon, that's when I got worried, It was so fast, and what I wanted was to resolve the situation,” says Deluz. If it hadn't been for wanting to resolve that, if I hadn't involved myself, I thought – the police chief told me, ‘Man, if you hadn't gone there in that moment, a tragedy could have occurred."

Given the lawless situation of Rio, the crime, a language barrier, unpaid police / crooked police, drunken silliness by tourists, etc... it's easy to imagine a trigger happy "police officer" could have blown away 4 Olympic athletes over a trumped up misunderstanding.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ol ... /89082232/

PacificBeach88 · Mon Aug 22, 2016 11:57 pm

A good updated read.

Looks like Rio police were the biggest liars in the Lochte drama… if anyone still cares about the truth...

http://hotair.com/archives/2016/08/22/l ... the-truth/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lsn0gwMlgM

What I find interesting in the extreme is why didn't Rio police even make a police report? Why did $50 to $100 USD all of a sudden "pay" for any alleged damage? The owner / manager of this gas station has never been interviewed , nor was there that night. Who made the decision that $50 or $100 from the Americans would cover the compensation for a sign? No charges for a person / off duty policeman for drawing a weapon at people over a non-criminal offense?

Klaus · Tue Aug 23, 2016 12:11 am

PacificBeach88 wrote:
I have found it interesting that so many of the Europeans who decry and despise every gun related incident in the USA, refuse to even acknowledge a gun/guns were brandished at these athletes. They act as if it never happened.

Nope. I just ignore it because it has nothing to do with the actual issue being discussed.

The actual issue is that Lochte tickled his audience's eager prejudices against Brazil by lying that some horrible brazilians for no fault of his own had decided to rob him, relying on your and other listeners' prejudices to fill in the gaps and smugly feeling their own preconceived notions being vindicated (as anybody can study especially in the first few exemplary posts).

If that had actually been true, it would have been an unpleasant detail about the Olympics, but almost nobody would have held it against the US swimmers involved.

But as it turned out what really happened was that Lochte and his bros had in fact soiled and slightly vandalized the petrol station and when the private guards confronted them he had even further escalated the situation and then started lying about the whole affair.

Whether the guards have stuck to perfect manners or to the letter of brazilian law could very well be discussed as a separate matter, but that has zero impact on the heart of the matter, which is that Lochte completely screwed up his own account of it all and by his lies and their implicit xenophobic chauvinism turned himself into a toxic repellent instead of an attractor of goodwill, which now has his sponsors scrambling for the exits like fleas on a just-deceased dog.

Nothing the guards did had anything to do with that or could be used as an excuse for it. What's happening to Lochte is 100% Lochte's own fault.

PacificBeach88 · Tue Aug 23, 2016 12:13 am

Klaus wrote:
And you don't even seem to notice the irony in the context of your own complaint upthread about having been ethnically singled out and mistreated yourself while eagerly tarring the whole of Brazil with Lochte's brush.

Where did I claim the 201 million people of Brazil lied about what happened or that they became 201 million judges and police officers demanding 4 USA swimmer's passports? I'm calling into question approx 8 to 12 people's actions. I'm not sure if they are citizens of Brazil or not, much less if they are ethnically White, Pardo, Black, Asian, or Aboriginal Brazilians. *shrug* I'm questioning their actions.

So don't be silly. I'm having an issue with one single event, with one single set of people, and the current outcome. I haven't claimed anyone in Brazil was being racist against caucasians. Otherwise, you're just a racist against white American's behavior in Brazil. See how broad that brush can paint Klaus?

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