Rio Scandals: Is It Ready, Will The Place Kill You & More!

[Kromm]

1 hour ago, windsprints said:

No surprise at all that Lochte is in talks with DWTS.  

I hope they cast him.

And I hope it makes the public finally turn on the show for their now well illustrated tendency to take scumballs and give them undeserved chances to "rehabilitate" themselves (Paula Deen, people named Palin, people named Kardashian, and a regular selection of other unsavory reality show people). 

[evilmindatwork]

1 hour ago, Kromm said:

I hope they cast him.

And I hope it makes the public finally turn on the show for their now well illustrated tendency to take scumballs and give them undeserved chances to "rehabilitate" themselves (Paula Deen, people named Palin, people named Kardashian, and a regular selection of other unsavory reality show people). 

he really likes attention, doesn't he?

[Noreaster]

3 hours ago, windsprints said:

Plea bargains are common everywhere but the fee going up after being rejected wouldn't have been something I'd expect. I'm glad he was able to get his US attorneys involved (no language issues) and get the penalty negotiated to something that could be paid and he come back to the US. 

I could be wrong, but the way I read Feigen's press release is that the initial penalty proposed was a fine + community service.  Then, when Feigen rejected that, the Brazilians came back with a higher fine but no community service.  

[mtlchick]

Quote

 Many here guessed he'd go the reality show route and someone upthread called DWTS as where'd he go first. 

ME!  :)  (Oy I have to get out more.) 

[roamyn]

Hope Solo has been suspended for 6 months due to her "cowardly" remarks.

[Kromm]

37 minutes ago, roamyn said:

Hope Solo has been suspended for 6 months due to her "cowardly" remarks.

Does that 6 months only apply to when Women's Soccer is actually "in season" (whenever that is). 

[Stuffy]

She'll only miss two games, so it's not much of a suspension. They also terminated her contract. I'm not sure that actually means anything because she can earn her spot back after suspension.

It sounds like they're going to fight the suspension because the players' union executive has already said they are violating her freedom of speech and would never suspend a man for so long. 

Edited August 25, 2016 by Stuffy

[Kromm]

10 minutes ago, Stuffy said:

She'll only miss two games, so it's not much of a suspension. They also terminated her contract. I'm not sure that actually means anything because she can earn her spot back after suspension.

It sounds like they're going to fight the suspension because the players' union executive has already said they are violating her freedom of speech and would never suspend a man for so long. 

Yeah sounds pretty pathetic. It's basically a 2 week suspension disguised as a 6 month one so they look like hardasses, right?

[ratgirlagogo]

6 hours ago, windsprints said:

 

No surprise at all that Lochte is in talks with DWTS.  Many here guessed he'd go the reality show route

 

Jeez louise, he already DID go that route four years ago, on the E! Channel.  One hundred percent of what I know about him up until this Olympics came from watching Joel McHale make fun of him every week on The Soup.  I am really sorry The Soup isn't on the air any more since they would have been hilariously brutal about this whole mishigas.

4 hours ago, Kromm said:

I hope they cast him.

Me too!  Can't wait to see how he does on the samba!

[proserpina65]

11 hours ago, Stuffy said:

She'll only miss two games, so it's not much of a suspension. They also terminated her contract. I'm not sure that actually means anything because she can earn her spot back after suspension.

It sounds like they're going to fight the suspension because the players' union executive has already said they are violating her freedom of speech and would never suspend a man for so long. 

If Hope Solo had been a man, she'd have been suspended indefinitely pending the resolution of her domestic violence charges.  She's gotten off lightly for many past issues because she's a woman and because the US Women's team has been successful.

[Daisy]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

If Hope Solo had been a man, she'd have been suspended indefinitely pending the resolution of her domestic violence charges.  She's gotten off lightly for many past issues because she's a woman and because the US Women's team has been successful.

bingo.  if the USA women's team really wanted to make this count they would have just kicked her off the team. there's like a slew of reasons why. 

[DollEyes]

 Hope Solo's suspension is great news. She's been more trouble than she's worth for years and her cheap shots at the Swedish soccer team after her own team lost to them in the Olympics was the final nail in the coffin. After that, Solo should have been fired. There are other players on the team who can and do represent the sport much better than she does, on and off the field. 

[Shaynaa]

Rio police charge Lochte with false report of robbery

Quote

But on Thursday he picked up a new sponsor — Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops. Pine Bros. said people should be more understanding of the swimmer and said he will appear in ads that say the company’s product is “Forgiving On Your Throat.”

I love that the company has "Bros" in the name.

[Kromm]

18 minutes ago, Shaynaa said:

Rio police charge Lochte with false report of robbery

I love that the company has "Bros" in the name.

John Oliver almost predicted that (because his whole Lochte piece started with how Bro-tastic Lochte is).

They've changed to these bags, but I remember Pine Bros. Drops from when I was a kid. They used to come stuffed into these little paper boxes. Because they were soft/kind of chewy they melted into the box, but there was a wax paper layer too, so you got them out eventually.

So I'm supposing they're maybe going to leverage him saying "Bro!!!!!!!" or some crap like that to play up on what a total dingus he is.

Edited August 25, 2016 by Kromm

[Stuffy]

10 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

If Hope Solo had been a man, she'd have been suspended indefinitely pending the resolution of her domestic violence charges.  She's gotten off lightly for many past issues because she's a woman and because the US Women's team has been successful.

I didn't say it the union guy did. I think she should've been kicked off as soon as she beat up her family. 

[proserpina65]

15 hours ago, Stuffy said:

I didn't say it the union guy did. I think she should've been kicked off as soon as she beat up her family. 

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you did.  I knew it was the union guy - who doesn't really have a case.

[blackwing]

So if the Rio police charge Ryan Lochte with filing a false report... what about all of their false reports?  They have repeatedly claimed that Lochte and company destroyed a gas station bathroom.  Two of the non-Lochte swimmers said that none of them went near the bathroom.  I thought that was obvious, they didn't use the bathroom, that was why they went behind the building and urinated on the wall.  There is no video footage of them going into the bathroom.  Why do the police continue to insist that the four destroyed a bathroom?  Is it because all of this is a bit ridiculous?  A little urine and tearing down a poster, and the response is that they get detained and have guns drawn on them?  I guess the story sounds better from the Brazilian police perspective if they claim that these four vandals completely destroyed a bathroom and tried to run off and these heroic and brave security guards stopped them.

[jjj]

3 minutes ago, blackwing said:

So if the Rio police charge Ryan Lochte with filing a false report... what about all of their false reports?  They have repeatedly claimed that Lochte and company destroyed a gas station bathroom.  

Did Lochte actually file a police report?  I know he talked to the press, but I thought he left the country without filing an actual report.

[choclatechip45]

I'm sure the this sign getting pulled down made a lot of noise it probably sounded like there was more damage. Not making excuses for the Brazilian police. 

[evilmindatwork]

I don't assume that anyone of their statements  are the absolute truth, whether it's the swimmers or the police. It'll be interesting to see what they have evidence for and what the actual charges are. 

[Ohwell]

I hope Ryan Lochte sues Al Roker for slander.

[legaleagle53]

10 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

I hope Ryan Lochte sues Al Roker for slander.

On what basis?  Mere opinion is not actionable.

[FilmTVGeek80]

22 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

I hope Ryan Lochte sues Al Roker for slander.

For what? Calling a liar a liar?

Quote

I guess the story sounds better from the Brazilian police perspective if they claim that these four vandals completely destroyed a bathroom and tried to run off and these heroic and brave security guards stopped them.

 

Who's painted the guards as brave and heroic? They simply did their jobs. And they didn't act as foolish and stupid as the Urine crew. 

Edited August 26, 2016 by FilmTVGeek80

[Ohwell]

Hah!  I knew this would get a response!  I'm sticking with my opinion though

[caracas1914]

3 hours ago, Ohwell said:

I hope Ryan Lochte sues Al Roker for slander.

Yea, that would go over good for rehabilitating Lochte's image; suing Roker!

It's irrelevant whether the Brazilian police lied also, Lochte was caught with his speedos on fire pulled down to his ankles.

[Noreaster]

I don't know why people are saying the Brazilian police lied.  They conducted an investigation and drew conclusions based on the evidence.  Saying the swimmers damaged the bathroom door and soap dispenser would have come from the gas station employees or surveillance videos.  The Brazilian police didn't make that up themselves.  Actually, has the police really been talking about the bathroom door or soap dispenser beyond the first day or so?  As the investigation evolved, no witness or video confirmed it (I think) so the police might have dropped that part.  It may just be the media harping on it.  

Edited August 26, 2016 by Noreaster

[Mittengirl]

I admit to being confused.  Here is my understanding of police reports.  The morning after, when the incident first became known, Feigen was the only one around the Athlete's Village so he gave a statement to police/USOC/whomever else, Lochte talked to the media but left Brazil without talking to Brazilian authorities, the other two did not talk to police until after they were hauled off their plane.  So how is Lochte being accused of giving a false statement?

I think I shall choose to quick thinking about it.  Except, why is this getting so much more press than the two athletes who were accused and charged with committing violent crimes against housekeepers working in the village? 

[legaleagle53]

1 hour ago, Mittengirl said:

I admit to being confused.  Here is my understanding of police reports.  The morning after, when the incident first became known, Feigen was the only one around the Athlete's Village so he gave a statement to police/USOC/whomever else, Lochte talked to the media but left Brazil without talking to Brazilian authorities, the other two did not talk to police until after they were hauled off their plane.  So how is Lochte being accused of giving a false statement?

I think I shall choose to quick thinking about it.  Except, why is this getting so much more press than the two athletes who were accused and charged with committing violent crimes against housekeepers working in the village? 

Because Lochte is one of the faces of Team USA.  Where were those two athletes from?

[windsprints]

Quote

I don't know why people are saying the Brazilian police lied.

 Yes it was an ongoing investigation but several articles (from all different news sources) have quoted Brazilian polices sources as stating they had video yet none ever appeared.  First it was the swimmers having a physical fight with security guards then it was them damaging the bathroom, etc.  Yet none of this video ever came out when other CCTV video did (with minutes magically missing). Here is an example:

Quote

A Brazilian police source told ABC News on Thursday, August 18, that “one of the swimmers was seen on CCTV footage breaking down the door to the bathroom at the gas station and fighting with a security guard.”

To the best of my recollection the police sources have made inaccurate and/or exaggerated statements but YMMV.

IMO, the police can't truly believe that the US would extradite Lochte so him being charged after he is back in the US. 

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, legaleagle53 said:

Because Lochte is one of the faces of Team USA.  Where were those two athletes from?

Morocco and Namibia, One was allowed to compete after he was charged.

[legaleagle53]

31 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Morocco and Namibia, One was allowed to compete after he was charged.

That's why the American media are silent about it.  It didn't involve any American athletes.  I daresay, however, that Morrocan and Namibian media are probably giving these two the same stink-eye that our media are giving Lochte & Co.

[Noreaster]

Lochte did give an official statement to the police.  I think it was the day after Feigen did.  I'll look for the link later.

1 hour ago, windsprints said:

 Yes it was an ongoing investigation but several articles (from all different news sources) have quoted Brazilian polices sources as stating they had video yet none ever appeared.  First it was the swimmers having a physical fight with security guards then it was them damaging the bathroom, etc.  Yet none of this video ever came out when other CCTV video did (with minutes magically missing). Here is an example:

To the best of my recollection the police sources have made inaccurate and/or exaggerated statements but YMMV.

IMO, the police can't truly believe that the US would extradite Lochte so him being charged after he is back in the US. 

"Police sources" are not always reliable.  Various media outlets got stuff wrong on the day of the breaking news and some of them were actually just quoting each other.  For example, ABC News said that the swimmers were indicted which was not true.  Even now, the media is reporting that Ryan Lochte was charged, but really the police are recommending he be charged.  Different things. 

[biakbiak]

39 minutes ago, Noreaster said:

Lochte did give an official statement to the police.  I think it was the day after Feigen did.  I'll look for the link later.

"Police sources" are not always reliable.  Various media outlets got stuff wrong on the day of the breaking news and some of them were actually just quoting each other.  For example, ABC News said that the swimmers were indicted which was not true.  Even now, the media is reporting that Ryan Lochte was charged, but really the police are recommending he be charged.  Different things. 

But they mentioned the soap dispenser, the door and a mirror in the press conference so that was not an anonymous source. The press conference was rambling/partially contradictory even when it was finally fully translated, basically they should have only had a brief statement if they were not fully prepared to provide an accurate detailed account. The main person speaking at the PC even mentioned that he had not seen the  CCTV video and had no idea when or who edited the footage when questioned. 

A link to the Lochte giving s police report would be helpful because none of the reports list it or how it contradicts from the varying degrees of lies he has told the media.

Eta: Found this mention of the tourist police being involved in a meeting with team officials FBI, State Dept. etc.with the others but no mention of an official report/statement and it couldn't have happened the day after Feigen's statement because he flew out early Tuesday morning.

Edited August 27, 2016 by biakbiak

[windsprints]

Quote

Even now, the media is reporting that Ryan Lochte was charged, but really the police are recommending he be charged. 

No, he was charged:

Quote

 

According to the AP, Brazilian police charged Lochte on Thursday with filing a false robbery report following an incident during the Olympics.

The police issued a statement confirming the indictment, saying "The investigation was concluded on Thursday and Olympic American swimmer Ryan Lochte was indicted for the crime of falsely reporting a crime."

 

Excellent point biakbiak, police statements made during the press conferences came directly from them and not from "sources".

USA Today did an investigative article which raised questions about Rio police: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/21/investigation-ryan-lochte-rio-olympics-authorities/89082232/

[Irlandesa]

8 hours ago, Ohwell said:

Hah!  I knew this would get a response!  I'm sticking with my opinion though

You want him to continue making a fool of himself? 

[Noreaster]

Here's the NY Times article that was published at roughly the same time as the AP article.  I wonder if the "charge" statement was in English or Portuguese.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/world/americas/ryan-lochte-brazil-charges.html?_r=0

Quote

RIO DE JANEIRO — The Brazilian police recommended on Thursday that prosecutors file charges against Ryan Lochte, the American Olympic swimmer, for the crime of providing false testimony, an indication that while the Summer Games here have ended, his misadventure in Brazil may continue.

As of Thursday evening, the state prosecutor’s office had yet to receive the police recommendation. Prosecutors are the authorities who would file formal charges against Mr. Lochte, a gold medalist.

The state prosecutor’s office “will analyze the police recommendation and either file charges with the judiciary or not take further action,” said a spokeswoman at that office, who was not authorized to speak on the record, on Thursday evening.

In other words, Mr. Lochte “is still not a defendant,” according to a spokesman with the Rio de Janeiro state judiciary, who also was not authorized to speak on the record.

Mr. Lochte, along with three American teammates — Jimmy Feigen, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz — caused a controversy during the final week of the Rio Games after claiming that men identifying themselves as Brazilian police officers had robbed them early one morning as they returned to the athletes’ village after attending a party.

Mr. Lochte initially said that their car had been pulled over by armed men, and that one of the men put a gun to his head and took cash from his wallet.

Mr. Lochte and Mr. Feigen later acknowledged they had falsified parts of the story, saying they had actually stopped at a gas station.

Mr. Feigen, Mr. Conger and Mr. Bentz all cooperated with the Brazilian police last week, and the judicial authorities have said no charges would be filed against them.

Mr. Lochte, however, had already left Brazil before a judge could require him to provide testimony.

If Mr. Lochte had remained in Rio de Janeiro, the spokesman with the state judiciary said, he could have reached the same agreement to avoid any charges.

I read that USA Today article when someone else posted it a few days ago.  USA Today with its "investigative reporting". What a crock of shit.  They are very selective on how they present information and draw conclusions that I think are questionable. 

Edited to add:  Sorry, don't mean to offend anyone.  My pet peeve is when "journalists" report news irresponsibly.  

Edited August 27, 2016 by Noreaster

[NUguy514]

4 hours ago, Noreaster said:

I read that USA Today article when someone else posted it a few days ago.  USA Today with its "investigative reporting". What a crock of shit.  They are very selective on how they present information and draw conclusions that I think are questionable. 

Edited to add:  Sorry, don't mean to offend anyone.  My pet peeve is when "journalists" report news irresponsibly.  

Ugh, that article was trash.

[Noreaster]

I found a couple of articles where it says Lochte gave an official statement.  It looks like he met with the police on Sunday night.  

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/brazilian-judge-bans-lochte-other-us-robbery-victims-from-leaving-the-country/2016/08/17/c5107754-648a-11e6-b4d8-33e931b5a26d_story.html

Quote

Judge Keyla Blanc de Cnop, from a special magistrate court set up for big sporting events, ruled that there were “possible divergences” in the versions of the robbery that the swimmers gave police.

In a statement released on the court’s website Wednesday, Blanc de Cnop said that in Lochte’s testimony to police, he said the athletes were stopped early Sunday by one robber who demanded all their money: $400. Blanc de Cnop said that Feigen, however, told police that the athletes were surprised by multiple robbers but that only one was armed.

Brazil’s G1 news site reported later Wednesday that another judge had ordered that Conger’s and Bentz’s passports also be seized. That court decision had not been released as of late Wednesday.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/16/ryan-lochte-robbery-gunpoint-rio-taxi-security/88865556/

Quote

It was many hours before Lochte met with U.S. authorities, according to Jeff Ostrow, Lochte's attorney. Ostrow told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday that Lochte met with representatives from the State Department, FBI, Tourist Police and the USOC's security team at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday night. It was Lochte's first interaction with police and he gave his statement with Ostrow on the phone.

Ostrow said Lochte cooperated fully with authorities. The meeting was held Sunday night because it was the earliest they could get all parties together, he said.

"I know that Ryan didn't want this to turn into what it did," Ostrow said. "The Olympics are more important and Team USA's performances are more important."

Brazilian authorities denied requests by USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday for a copy of an incident report.

Ostrow said the incident had become a "media circus" considering robberies are commonplace in this city. Ostrow hired  private security for Lochte for his remaining time in Rio. The swimmer cut his stay short and arrived back in the United States on Tuesday.

When the IOC was asked Sunday morning at a news conference about a robbery involving the U.S. swimmers, a spokesman said it was not true. The swimmers had been out on the town after the final night of the swimming competition at the Rio Olympics. Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen were the others with Lochte.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams on Tuesday offered more detail about the chain of events, telling USA TODAY Sports that the committee had reached out to USOC officials upon hearing about an alleged robbery, but that USOC officials subsequently responded they had spoken with Lochte and been told there had been no incident. Adams said that information came from USOC spokesman Mark Jones.

Asked about the matter on Tuesday, Jones told USA TODAY Sports that "we were working with the information we had."

All four swimmers were unharmed, though Lochte's mother, Ileana Lochte, told USA TODAY Sports on Sunday morning that they were shaken up from the incident. Later that day, Lochte described the incident to NBC:

[Noreaster]

2 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

Ugh, that article was trash.

Yep.  To be fair, USA Today is not exactly known for hard-hitting news.  But the way they wrote about their "extensive" investigation is so ludicrous.  They basically looked at evidence that other news outlets had been reporting on for days and spun everything in a pro-Lochte, anti-Brazilian way.  And say things like the police didn't release X evidence to us, therefore they are shady.  Like come on, here in the States, the police usually don't release things to the public.  

When I read it, I thought it was perhaps a misguided attempt to differentiate itself from its competitors and provide a different viewpoint.  But since I just pulled up another USA Today article with Lochte's lawyer's interview and it also says that it was USA Today with whom Lochte's mother discussed the incident, I wonder if USA Today is in the pocket of Lochte.  Or just acting Billy Bush-like in its defense of Ryan.  

Edited August 27, 2016 by Noreaster

[Noreaster]

8 hours ago, biakbiak said:

But they mentioned the soap dispenser, the door and a mirror in the press conference so that was not an anonymous source. The press conference was rambling/partially contradictory even when it was finally fully translated, basically they should have only had a brief statement if they were not fully prepared to provide an accurate detailed account. The main person speaking at the PC even mentioned that he had not seen the  CCTV video and had no idea when or who edited the footage when questioned. 

A link to the Lochte giving s police report would be helpful because none of the reports list it or how it contradicts from the varying degrees of lies he has told the media.

Eta: Found this mention of the tourist police being involved in a meeting with team officials FBI, State Dept. etc.with the others but no mention of an official report/statement and it couldn't have happened the day after Feigen's statement because he flew out early Tuesday morning.

I didn't watch the press conference (just read the NY Times reporting on it), but based on your post, it does seem that the Brazilian police might have made a mistake by revealing all the leads they were exploring without more corroboration.  At the same time, there was so much media attention that maybe they felt they needed to. Regardless, I think It's a far cry to say that the Brazilians were deliberately presenting false information and trying to mislead the public like some have been suggesting.  

Edited August 27, 2016 by Noreaster

[blackwing]

43 minutes ago, Noreaster said:

I didn't watch the press conference (just read the NY Times reporting on it), but based on your post, it does seem that the Brazilian police might have made a mistake by revealing all the leads they were exploring without more corroboration.  At the same time, there was so much media attention that maybe they felt they needed to. Regardless, I think It's a far cry to say that the Brazilians were deliberately presenting false information and trying to mislead the public like some have been suggesting.  

I disagree.  In that press conference, they didn't say "in addition, a bathroom was destroyed, we are trying to determine if these four did it and will look into it further."   On the contrary, they gave very specific statements about it.  They definitely stated that the four destroyed a bathroom, they broke a mirror and a soap dispenser.   They made these four out to be drunk vandals.  When it turns out that perhaps all that was done was urinating on a wall and tearing down a poster.

To me, it doesn't matter if they were "deliberately" presenting false information.  They are the police.  If their police system is diligent, then they shouldn't have called a press conference and made definite statements as if they were fact unless they in fact had hard evidence stating this.  Whether it was deliberate or not is besides the point.  Their false and misleading statements made the four seem like spoiled Americans who were drunk and thought they could do whatever they wanted, including trashing and destroying a bathroom.   When in actuality all they did was pee and rip down a poster.  Their false and misleading statements did a lot to turn the public against these four spoiled drunk vandals.

I don't condone the peeing and the tearing down of a poster and the misrepresentation.   But I also don't think the police should have presented false and misleading information when they had no support for it.

[caracas1914]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

 

I don't condone the peeing and the tearing down of a poster and the misrepresentation.

To paraphrase Al Roker, " They didn't misrepresent, they flat out lied."

[Ohwell]

I wonder if Al Roker will say that when he's in court.  

[windsprints]

Quote

 

To me, it doesn't matter if they were "deliberately" presenting false information.  They are the police.  If their police system is diligent, then they shouldn't have called a press conference and made definite statements as if they were fact unless they in fact had hard evidence stating this.  Whether it was deliberate or not is besides the point.  Their false and misleading statements made the four seem like spoiled Americans who were drunk and thought they could do whatever they wanted, including trashing and destroying a bathroom.   When in actuality all they did was pee and rip down a poster.  Their false and misleading statements did a lot to turn the public against these four spoiled drunk vandals.

I don't condone the peeing and the tearing down of a poster and the misrepresentation.   But I also don't think the police should have presented false and misleading information when they had no support for it.

 

ITA with all of this.  I do think Lochte behaved like a lying, drunken asshole but I just do not see what happened as some big international atrocity.  IMO the longer this goes on the more the public sympathy will swing back towards Lochte unless there is video previously unseen or new evidence no one heard about.

Of course USA Today isn't stellar journalism. TBH I don't think anything written about this incident was good journalism.  The USA Today article had somewhat of a timeline of when statements were made & that's the only reason why I posted it.

Edited August 27, 2016 by windsprints

[NUguy514]

4 hours ago, blackwing said:

To me, it doesn't matter if they were "deliberately" presenting false information.  They are the police.  If their police system is diligent, then they shouldn't have called a press conference and made definite statements as if they were fact unless they in fact had hard evidence stating this.  Whether it was deliberate or not is besides the point.  Their false and misleading statements made the four seem like spoiled Americans who were drunk and thought they could do whatever they wanted, including trashing and destroying a bathroom.   When in actuality all they did was pee and rip down a poster.  Their false and misleading statements did a lot to turn the public against these four spoiled drunk vandals.

That second sentence is proof enough of your claim that they were four spoiled, drunk Americans who thought they could do whatever they wanted; just because they maybe didn't destroy the bathroom, that doesn't mean they weren't drunk assholes who thought they could do whatever they wanted.

Something else that I haven't seen anyone else mention is that the bathroom may have been cleaned up before the police became involved.  It was several days before the police really became involved; the mirror and soap dispenser could have been replaced in that time.  It doesn't seem that the gas station attendants called the police; they may have thought the issue was done and over with, so they may have just cleaned up the bathroom.  It's also very possible none of the four drunken idiots ever entered the bathroom, but since so much of the "information" surrounding this ridiculousness has been speculative or stretched in some way, I don't see why this couldn't be something to consider as well.

[biakbiak]

25 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

 

Something else that I haven't seen anyone else mention is that the bathroom may have been cleaned up before the police became involved.  It was several days before the police really became involved; the mirror and soap dispenser could have been replaced in that time.  It doesn't seem that the gas station attendants called the police; they may have thought the issue was done and over with, so they may have just cleaned up the bathroom.  It's also very possible none of the four drunken idiots ever entered the bathroom, but since so much of the "information" surrounding this ridiculousness has been speculative or stretched in some way, I don't see why this couldn't be something to consider as well.

Given the pictures and reports of the bathrooms which like many gas stations around the world were shitty and not well maintained, I find it unlikely that they were quickly cleaned up.

When one of the first news crews asked to see the damage they were just pointed to the poster that Ryan had "destroyed" had been rehung with a small crack in the glass. 

Thinking that the four swimmers were lying, drunken assholes and thinking that the Rio police handled the case poorly through misrepresentations and over reactions are not mutual exclusive thoughts.

The one truth is that Ryan is a narrasistic lying idiot and is responsible for this blowing up into even a news story much less an international incident.

Edited August 27, 2016 by biakbiak

[NUguy514]

I'm not saying it's probable; I just wanted to introduce the possibility.

I also don't know that I can claim that the Rio police handled things poorly since I have no idea what the investigative process for police in Brazil is like and since I think it's unfair to view it in the same way I would view the process for American police.  One thing I do know, though, is that this whole thing is gross and that it wouldn't have even been a thing had those four dipshits not gotten wasted and made some idiotic choices.

[Quilt Fairy]

1 hour ago, windsprints said:

 I do think Lochte behaved like a lying, drunken asshole but I just do not see what happened as some big international atrocity.

This X 1000.  Not to condone the original incident (which I don't think anyone does), but at this point it comes down to the Brazilian police had their feelings hurt.  Wanting to have Lochte extradited to Brazil to answer charges for this is beyond absurd. If the jerk didn't still want to have a swimming career (which is apparently all the idiot can do) there wouldn't even be a glimmer of hope that Brazil would pursue this or that the US would agree. And the $11K "fine" Feigen had to pay to get his passport back? That was out and out extortion, and I won't be convinced differently. Replace "visiting American athlete we can squeeze" with "local average Brazilian" and I sincerely doubt the fine would have been anywhere near that much.  

[biakbiak]

11 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

I'm not saying it's probable; I just wanted to introduce the possibility.

I also don't know that I can claim that the Rio police handled things poorly since I have no idea what the investigative process for police in Brazil is like and since I think it's unfair to view it in the same way I would view the process for American police.  One thing I do know, though, is that this whole thing is gross and that it wouldn't have even been a thing had those four dipshits not gotten wasted and made some idiotic choices.

I am comfortable in saying that calling an international press conference and stating things that have not been investigated/confirmed as handling it poorly.

Edited August 27, 2016 by biakbiak

[dcalley]

I apologize if this has already been posted. Ben Way found out about Ryan Lochte's story by accident

And for some fun, in fake news: Ryan Lochte’s Mom Ends Endorsement Deal With Ryan Lochte