August 19th, 2016 at 10:51 AM ^
when the lie or lies have been proven to be false, the next best course of action is to simply apologize...though many politicians and public figures double-down on the deception, but that route usually ends much worse.
August 19th, 2016 at 10:53 AM ^
Sweet, done, he's dumb, let's football.
August 19th, 2016 at 11:00 AM ^
August 19th, 2016 at 11:02 AM ^
I have zero credit for anyone that hides behind a lawyer's prose. Lochte didn't apologize, some lawyer (with the USOC somewhere in view) wrote that and pasted it into his Instagram account. You ever heard Lochte actually speak? He's not that literate...
August 19th, 2016 at 11:05 AM ^
August 19th, 2016 at 11:07 AM ^
to communicate. It appears as some other Mgobloggers have noted in prior threads related to this story that alements of the stories told by both sides appear to be true, that at some point the swimmers were contronted by an armed uniform guard, probably a gas station security guard, who demanded money for the damage allegedly caused by the swimmers.
Here's where to story loses focus: after the allegations by both sides that there was no robbery but there was a situaiton at the gas station. What caused it and how those people at the the sttion responded is apparntly the substance of the story as we now know it. Yes, the story is embarrassing for all concerned. But, of course, the reason why there is no understanding now is because of the complete lack of understanding as the events ocurred on the night of the incident, as things got lost in translation.
Brazilian justice apparently revolves around money. Obviously, Lochte skipped Rio to avoid further contact with police and Brazilian justice. His fellow teammates weren't so lucky. And why one guy was willing to pony up $10,800 to get his passport back while the others avoided payment may be only be because he could afford it and the others couldn't.
Why did carousing swimmers traveling in a local taxi cause damage at a gas station? The odd thing is the disconnect between the Olympic pr and police statements stemming from this. They are like night and day. The cops want to prosecute and Olympic organizers just want to let it go.
August 19th, 2016 at 11:10 AM ^
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August 19th, 2016 at 11:49 AM ^
+1.
Stupidity meets corruption. There are no winners.
Or losers.
August 19th, 2016 at 5:45 PM ^
Exactly. The people who should most avoid corrupt countries like Brazil are those too dumb to avoid them.
August 19th, 2016 at 11:11 AM ^
I love apologies in which one takes literally no responsibility for his/her actions and poor judgement.
This is the apology of a very self-absorbed child...
August 19th, 2016 at 11:11 AM ^
I agree the guy is a joke and deserves to crushed but it is a little disturbing seeing gas station security pull guns, point them at you, and then money exchange hands. You may feel like you really didn't have a choice. That being said, his "apology" made me even less sympathetic to him.
August 19th, 2016 at 11:23 AM ^
thing though, there is still absolutely nothing to corroborate that he ever had a gun pulled on him. The last thing on the video is he and his boys getting in the taxi and leaving. Unless the security guards hopped in a car, pulled them over, flashed a "badge" and put a gun to his head(not seeming likely), then the entire "robbery" aspect of it appears completely fabricated.
August 19th, 2016 at 11:36 AM ^
I watched the video. I can't say for certain that was a gun in the the security individuals hands but I didn't think that part was disputed at the point.
Edit: This from ESPN so take with a grain of salt.
The footage doesn't show a weapon, but a police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing, said two guards pointed guns at the swimmers. Veloso said the guards did not use excessive force and would have been justified in drawing their weapons because the athletes "were conducting themselves in a violent way."
A station employee called police, and the guards and employees tried to get the swimmers and the taxi driver to stay until authorities arrived, some even offering to help interpret between English and Portuguese, Veloso said. But he said the athletes wanted to leave, so they paid 100 Brazilian reals (about US $33) and $20 in U.S. currency and left.
August 19th, 2016 at 12:29 PM ^
read that article. My bad. As of yesterday, it sounded to me that the entire statement regarding the gun was made up.
August 19th, 2016 at 11:12 AM ^
i hate this guy.
August 19th, 2016 at 11:17 AM ^
August 19th, 2016 at 5:47 PM ^
Yeah, let him achieve the obscurity he so richly deserves.
August 19th, 2016 at 11:18 AM ^
...if the swimmers don't piss on a gas station wall and break a sign. It seems like the effect is getting a whole lot more attention than the cause. There would be no guns or a $10K payment to get out of the country if these guys would've peed in a toilet, or at least hit the toilet seat and went home.
August 19th, 2016 at 11:19 AM ^
August 19th, 2016 at 11:24 AM ^
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August 19th, 2016 at 11:28 AM ^
August 19th, 2016 at 11:52 AM ^
Yeah, all the Third World countries who already feel marginalized would be totally cool with that.
August 19th, 2016 at 12:09 PM ^
August 19th, 2016 at 11:46 AM ^
Must feel nice as an American to piss on the poor countries as if we're not the most unequal country in the world. America could use those billions on healthcare and schools too, won't stop us from bidding on the next 100 Games.
August 19th, 2016 at 11:55 AM ^
August 19th, 2016 at 12:57 PM ^
August 19th, 2016 at 5:50 PM ^
August 19th, 2016 at 11:18 AM ^
August 19th, 2016 at 11:23 AM ^
No evidence of a "fight" or vandalism of a bathroom (or anything for that matter) on video. There are cameras all over that gas station. Hmm. It does look like they went around back and peed on a wall. That happens in every city outside of bars every night. It's not vandalism. I've done it, I'm sure most of you have done it.
They were ordered out of the taxi at gunpoint. Brazil admits this but the video doesn't show it. Hmm. They were told, at gunpoint, that they couldn't leave until they paid for "damages". I'm assuming these securty guards were barking at them in Portuguese so the drunk swimmers probably didn't know what the hell they were trying to say. In this country what happened is called armed robbery. If there were damages you wait for the police to arrive to sort it out and an agreement for payment is not made with a gun present.
The media coverage of this is disgraceful.
August 19th, 2016 at 11:52 AM ^
August 19th, 2016 at 12:08 PM ^
Especially if they took credit cards. That wouldn't be to pay for damages.
August 19th, 2016 at 11:53 AM ^
That happens in every city outside of bars every night.
True. I think I had to pay to leave Rick's once.
August 19th, 2016 at 12:10 PM ^
This is probably close to what happened - A fake security guard pointed a gun and wanted money for damages. Did Ryan exaggerate the story, sure he did. Theres about 3 minutes missing on the released video. He said/she said.
August 19th, 2016 at 4:04 PM ^
I get that Lochte is a douchebag and that he exaggerated the story, but this whole thing screams shakedown and I'm not sure why everyone is so quick to believe the unbelievably corrupt Brazillian cops. These aren't US cops. These aren't good people.
I mean, they basically held the one swimmers credentials and made him a prisoner in the country until he ponied up $11,000. Sure, call it a "fine'. It was basically extortion. Do anyone seriously believe he did anything that amounted to a fine of $11,000? That is so utterly ridiculous the only rational explanation is that is was a shakedown by the corurpt Brazillian police. They saw a bunch of American marks and they were looking to cash out.
Not to mention that if the gas station/cops didn't have something to hide, they wouldn't have edited 3 minutes out of the security camera footage out. There is only one reason you would do that.
August 19th, 2016 at 11:31 AM ^
I wouldn't worry about him losing basically his entire sponsorship opportunity because of his assclown'itude.
He'll make it all back on the professional swim circuit.
August 19th, 2016 at 11:33 AM ^
Dear Sweet Baby Jesus, please make this the last Lochte thread.
August 19th, 2016 at 11:59 AM ^
August 19th, 2016 at 12:21 PM ^
there is a front page story today in the Charlotte Observer in which his dad completely backs his son's story and wonders why there is any "controversy" over the matter. He said the swimmers did nothing to provoke the situation and were robbed at gunpoint.
However, the story also notes that while Lochte was still in Rio, and told his account of the story to police and on the Today show, he declined to speak with Olympic officials about it for fear that he and the others might get in trouble. The story contains no new response from Lochte personally, but his dad mentions that he went to pick up his car and buy a new wallet upon his arrival since it was taken from him in Brazil.
"Why would anyone fabricate anything? It's totally ridiculous," Lochte's father, Steve, is quoted as saying.
There was also no new additional information from his attorney in the case who released the statement (probably written by someone his office) for news consumption.
Brazilian authorities, meantime, reportedly have failed to locate the driver of the taxi nor any witnesses.
Apparently, in the statement that Lochte and one other swimmer gave Rio police, they acknowledged being intoxicated, couldn't describe the color or type of the taxi they rode in, and couldn't isolate when their confrontation wtih the alleged robber occurred. Supposedly, the robber took the swimmers money, Lochte's wallet, but left their cell phones and credentials.
The story caused initial confusion for Olympics officials and police who then got a judge to order the passports of the remaining swimmers to be withheld until their stories could be corroborated, and they were pulled off the plane for that reason.
Lochte has not changed his account of the alleged robbery since first making it public. And no one has said how much money they were forced to rurn over at gunpoint or any other specific details other than Lochte's contention about being pulled over in the taxi and then being being robbed with a cocked gun to his forehead.
Oddly, there is no mention of any gas station stop or alledged restroom visit and alleged damage where police say a security camera caught them on tape.
August 19th, 2016 at 12:25 PM ^
he'd grow up to be this
August 19th, 2016 at 12:52 PM ^
HAHA that Cook guy is such a prick. I'm glad he is gone. Luckiest win ever against Michigan.
August 19th, 2016 at 2:25 PM ^
as he said after the game, "that's god at work, right there."
a sanctimonious prick...which made him a perfect dantonio player.
August 19th, 2016 at 3:13 PM ^
Archie Griffin?
August 19th, 2016 at 12:26 PM ^
Lochte:
Fake cops came up and made us get out of the car. They then pulled a gun(s) on us and made us get on the ground. I wouldn't get on the ground because i didn't think we did anything wrong. You can see this all in the video except the guns are off camera.
Police chief:
At first the chief said there were no guns but then he said the security guards pulled guns because one of the athletes was out of control. You can see from the video that the athletes were calm during the entire video. What happened to the scuffle that the chief talked about?
Then there is the vandalism. You can see a worker remove a broken sign which is all Lochte said was broken. Media was not allowed to inspect the bathroom. As far as the sign, frame was falling off. Based on the video evidence it's an easy fix. Yet they got $30 (or much more depending on the version) for a 5 minute glue job. Sounds like more of a shake down.
And I'm not surprised since a friend was shaken down for extra money in Rio during Carnaval many years ago. The police were standing nearby and did nothing. Being shaken down for more payment for a cab ride or otherwise has plausible deniability vs robbery and I heard back then it's a common tactic in rio with tourists. That's part of the reason I'm not going to just believe one side or the other.
And as far as Brazillians being mad at Lochte ruining Rio's international reputation that BS. Rio, it's crime, the corruption, and the current scandals ruined its reputation long before the puff media for the Olympics arrived.
August 19th, 2016 at 1:54 PM ^
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August 19th, 2016 at 3:34 PM ^
August 19th, 2016 at 4:12 PM ^
Lochte is "guilty" of telling his mom a fish tale about the evening, and then his mom went and posted it on social media which is what blew this whole thing up. The basic details of the story--that he was pulled out of his taxi at gunpoint and had money demanded of him, are what he was telling the story about. I'm sure if that was happening to you in a foreign language at 6AM while you were drunk off your ass you've probably think you were being robbed as well. Yeah, he shoudln't have exaggerated the story to his mom, and once his mom ran with it, he should have backed the story down before it turned into this international incident. But we already know Lochte isn't very bright.
I don't think anyone is saying the US swimmers were choir boys here or acted 100% perfect. But unless there is some video showing smoe other egregious act, how you get to a total of 44,000 in fines, which is basically what the Brazillian cops are demanding in extortion money to let them leave the country (though Lochte already left so there is no way he's paying) is utterly preposterous. If this was happening in the US, the Feds would have already stepped in to completely shut the cops down.
August 19th, 2016 at 8:47 PM ^