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

[TigerLynx]

This gives new meaning to the words dumb and stupid.  If Lochte's mother or the Olympic officials were asking about where they were, what happened to their money, etc., why the hell didn't they just go with the truth, "We had to much to drink, made asses of ourselves, caused some damage we had to pay for, and now we are back."  It's bad enough to be drunk and stupid.  Being drunk and stupid, vandalizing someone else's property, and then lying about it is even worse.

Edited August 18, 2016 by TigerLynx

[Athena]

Please keep race issues and negative generalizations about groups out of this discussion. You can react without stereotyping or offending a swathe of people from Brazil, the US, or anywhere. Thanks.

[GinnyMars]

1 minute ago, TigerLynx said:

It's bad enough to be drunk and stupid.  Being drunk and stupid, vandalizing someone else's property, and then lying about it is even worse.

Being drunk and stupid, vandalizing someone else's property, and then *blaming it on the easy scapegoat, further reinforcing harmful stereotypes, is much worse, yes.

[Dots And Stripes]

I wouldn't harp too much on the not reporting it to the police part. Actual crime victims don't always report. IMO, that's not a fair test.

There also still appear to be conflicting reports, maybe because of sources speaking out of turn. The video on People so far shows the guys looking relatively calm getting in, and then back out of, the taxi. There appears to be more to the video than has been released so far. I think it's clear Lochte's story was inaccurate but it's not really clear what did happen. 

[tanyak]

And Ryan is a 32-year-old millionaire. Why does he need to explain anything about his money to his mom? 

I know there are a lot of layers to this concerning Rio and possible white privilege and all of that, but when you pull back the layers, this is just some stupid shit.

I'm chuckling at the visual of the two young ones being pulled off the plane, taken to the police station and more than likely put in separate rooms. I can see them trying to figure out what to say while at the same time cursing Lochte for being back safely in the States. Someone in the comments to an ESPN update posted that photo of Usain Bolt smiling to the side while blowing past everyone in that 100 semifinal.  So appropriate. lol

And maybe everyone is being "unfair" to Lochte by assuming he cooked up this whole scheme. Maybe someone else did, maybe they all did it together. But he's the most famous by far--this is falling almost squarely on him.

Cute as he is, this is looking like the end of our Olympics relationship. ;)

[ohjoy]

My most generous self has come up with this scenario: they got back to the village (maybe still not completely sober) and probably half-told the story using a version of "we just wanted to use the bathroom, and things got out of hand they pointed a gun at us and demanded payment, and the only reason we were able to leave is because we gave them money," which Lochte's mom then synthesized to "my baby got robbed at gunpoint in Rio" and went to the media. By the time they sobered up and realized what the situation truly was, they figured they could just play it off in a way that didn't make them look bad if they stuck the original high points -- there was a gun, our money was taken, etc. (and being drama Lochte couldn't resist imbellishing a little because hey, spotlight!) and everything seemed to be going fine until the story started to unravel under additional scrutiny.

[dcalley]

2 minutes ago, aquarian1 said:

Ryan lies to mom to explain the missing money

I don't think we know for sure why he lied to his mom. It seems unlikely she would have known that money was missing from his wallet unless he volunteered that information to her.

[proserpina65]

3 hours ago, GinnyMars said:

If Rio is soooo dangerous, why aren't the federations/olympic committees advising their uber-rich athletes to walk around with bodyguards? Or if trained bodyguards are too expensive, at least hire a pool of local guides to go out with the athletes, especially if they're planning to imbibe. Either Rio is the Wild West and you take the necessary measures, or you admit that things aren't that bad and millions of Cariocas are surviving every year. Most of the people who run into problems messed up in the first place.

Source: lived in Brazil as a white first worlder, survived. It's really not that hard.

You always have the option of turning off your television.

Some of them are advising their athletes not to leave the Olympic Village in anything other than official team transport.

[GinnyMars]

1 minute ago, proserpina65 said:

Some of them are advising their athletes not to leave the Olympic Village in anything other than official team transport.

They may be right if some athletes are gonna be dumb enough to go out with 20k watches on their wrists... Really, it's not that hard. Attend your security briefing - I'm assuming/hoping they had one, but if not, then just spend 10 minutes reading the "Security" ("Safety"?) section of your Lonely Planet -, then respect a handful of very basic rules: no expensive jewellery, no improvised tour of a favela, no following strangers, no walking in strange neighborhoods at night. Come on! Again: most of the people who run into problems messed up in the first place. Honestly I've been itching to quote so many parts of my first two comments, both were posted before we knew about this gas station development, and it looks like I was right about several things, including this...

[Crs97]

If this story as we now know it holds up as correct, then I am not just angry as a fellow US citizen, but as a fellow human being on this planet.  You screw up and every time you are given an opportunity to come clean, you choose not to.  You cause untold harm to a place that has invited you to be there, to a country that has given you the honor of representing it, to true victims who now find it that much harder to be believed when they report a crime, and to friends and others whose trust you betrayed.  You had so many chances to make the right choice, and yet you continued to make the wrong ones.  That is called "character," my friend, and all the Olympic medals in the world cannot make up for its absence.

[Arynm]

Ryan Lochte is doubling down. He says that the station has doctored 3 minutes of the footage that has them being pulled out of the cab at gunpoint.

This is far from over, and getting crazier by the moment

http://www.tmz.com/2016/08/18/ryan-lochte-robbery-lie-rio/

Love the title : "my story was mostly true."

[PaulaO]

On 8/17/2016 at 1:22 PM, BitterApple said:

Wow, are they serious? A company raking in billions of dollars in profits is nitpicking over volunteers taking too many Cokes? I swear, between NBC, the IOC and these greedy ass sponsors, I just want to line them up and take turns punching them in the face. 

I cannot like this post enough.  Although I would do more than punch them in the face.  The IOC is crookeder than a dog's hind leg.

[galax-arena]

Being drunk and stupid, vandalizing someone else's property, and then *blaming it on the easy scapegoat, further reinforcing harmful stereotypes, is much worse, yes.

Seriously. The vandalism was bad enough, but then he had to perpetuate the stereotype of Rio as this dangerous and lawless frontier. I'm not saying that there isn't an issue with crime; Rio might have issues, but it doesn't help anything to have a bunch of American dudebros exploiting that stereotype to hide their criminal activity. 

It was going to take an Olympic effort to take the "ugly American" title from Hope Solo, but Lochte and co. somehow managed to rise to the occasion.

I think it's telling that there was no talk about giving Hope Solo "a break" because she's just a "kid." 

For the record, I hate Hope Solo and I hated what she said. Piss poor sportsmanship. (She can go cry into her 2016 Rio medal - oh wait, she doesn't have one, ha!) But I am SO sick of this whole "boys will be boys" bullshit. 

[biakbiak]

Brazilian police are about to hold a press conference, NBC hasn't mentioned it but CNN keep teasing it.

[mightysparrow]

1 minute ago, biakbiak said:

Brazilian police are about to hold a press conference, NBC hasn't mentioned it but CNN keep teasing it.

 

1 minute ago, biakbiak said:

Brazilian police are about to hold a press conference, NBC hasn't mentioned it but CNN keep teasing it.

This is the best thing that's ever happened to the Brazilian police.  They should give Lochte and the rest of these clowns the key to the city.  And make sure the key opens the door to a men's room.

[biakbiak]

CNN translator either sucks or the police spokesmen likes to ramble and has appeared to contradict himself several times. 

Edited August 18, 2016 by biakbiak

[MostlyC]

I thought something was a little hinky from the get go. 

I suspect (but have no confirmation) that there may have been women involved that night (not at the gas stationI think).  They just won Gold, they think they're invincible, they're in in a foreign country (what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas thing), they've partied their heads off- it doesn't surprise that it devolved to childish and irresponsible behavior.   Assuming that it happened that way- we still don't know the full details, and maybe we never will..

It's the lying (to the Mom, to the media) that confuses me.  Why did Locate bring it up at all?  Was he still drunk when he publicly told his version of events to NBC?  It's become a PR nightmare for all.  

This may be the scandal of the games.

[stealinghome]

1 hour ago, dcalley said:

I don't think we know for sure why he lied to his mom. It seems unlikely she would have known that money was missing from his wallet unless he volunteered that information to her.

Not defending Lochte or his massive douchebaggery/idiocy here, but it's possible he was shaken by the incident and called his mom because, well, that's what many people do when they're upset. Moms have the magical superpower of making you feel better. Is the report still that the police officer drew his gun on them? If so, regardless of the circumstances, I imagine that having a gun pointed your way is pretty damn frightening (especially if you don't know what's being said to you in a foreign language). So if he calls his mom and strategically omits some information and embellishes some other in his account of what happened, and is probably still drunk or hungover to boot, it's not hard to imagine the story snowballing.

[Shaynaa]

Rio police chief is not happy with what Ryan's attorney said. 

[roamyn]

My SIL is from Sao Paolo. She says Rio is the most corrupt government, and she lived 10 years in Chicago.

It's very possible that the swimmers aren't lying.  The police are.  And the conflicting reports are because the guys were drunk.

If the 2 detained swimmers are "cooperating with the police", could it be that they're afraid to be arrested or otherwise detained in a foreign country where people disappear all the time?

But why did the police have to make such a big deal?  Because they know the reputation Rio is getting is not good and they need to 'save face'?

For the record, I can't stand Loche.

[Arynm]

After watching the press conference I still am having some doubts on both sides. I find it strange that we can't see any of the supposed bad behavior from the swimmers on CCTV. So far all we have is the word of some gas station attendants and the police. They have many angles, but not that one? I also question the fact that the police don't seem to have any problem with the fact that the security guard pulled a gun on them, demanded they get out of the car, and made them sit on the curb until they paid for any damages. Isn't that called extortion? Never mind that they said the security guard didn't speak English, so the guys might have had no idea that they guy with the gun had any relation to the gas station, they might have thought it was a robbery.

I think they were drunk, but have no idea if they did any damage or peed on the building. Maybe the gas station thought they would be an easy mark.

There is more to come I think

[Shaynaa]

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is at the gas station.  He has to have a translator with him.  I'm not quite sure why he didn't try and talk to the manager or owner of the gas station. 

[Matt K]

Well, this whole thing is kind of nuts.  At the very least I'm glad to see there was some actual evidence used to detain the swimmers (which really was my whole issue with this, it's a subject I'm very passionate about).  I'm waiting to see how this shakes out because what the police are saying makes some sense, but the video doesn't show it (but I assume the eyewitnesses gave at least a convincing story, enough for probable cause).  Then again, that's sometimes the case.  I'll wait to see what comes out as this progresses but, even if the police are correct, I still think Rio over reacted.   I understand the outrage, but pulling them off of a flight for what at most will be a small fine seems like overkill.  But I am glad to see they maybe had actual evidence before doing this (assuming this was the evidence they used to get the warrants), it's a shame this wasn't made clearer during their arrest.  

 

Oh, and it was mentioned above, the murder rate I cited was for all of Brazil, apparently Rio's murder rate (per 10,000) is a little better than Compton (I couldn't find any better info on this).  

[Shaynaa]

Well, I don't think most gas stations would have security cameras right outside the bathroom.  Even in Rio.  On the footage it did look like they were being escorted or directly followed by guys in matching shirts from the bathroom area.  That would scream employee to me.  So if those same folks tried to keep them from leaving, I think most people would assume this was a pissed off employee trying to keep them from leaving the scene of the "crime".  Drunk people don't always reason well.  Obviously when the translator intervened and what was said is key here. 

[biakbiak]

 it's a shame this wasn't made clearer during their arrest.

No one has been arrested.

Edited August 18, 2016 by biakbiak

[Matt K]

11 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

 

No one has been arrested.

The two swimmers were arrested, just not charged (which yes is a technical detail) as the warrant was for their arrest and seizure of their passports.  Honestly, seizing the passports is a type of arrest, as they are being deprived of their liberty by a governmental agency.  

[Arynm]

The security guard was not dressed like the employees, he apparently was in all black. I think this was stated by the police

The employees were pretty obvious in that they were all wearing the same thing.

I did find it odd that they must have heard something because a few went over like there was a commotion they were looking at.

I also noticed, based on the CCTV video and then the CNN guy who walked us through what may have happened, that the bathrooms were in a separate building directly behind the alley we saw them walking through. I would not find it strange to have a camera facing the other way down the walkway for this very reason. All kinds of hijinks can happen in small alleys and walkways like that.

[Ohwell]

21 minutes ago, Matt K said:

But I am glad to see they maybe had actual evidence before doing this (assuming this was the evidence they used to get the warrants), it's a shame this wasn't made clearer during their arrest.  

I'm glad to see it, too, but I'm still wondering about the accuracy of that video.   

However, there's no question in my mind that these were four drunken idiots.  They should be glad they made it out alive. 

[stealinghome]

33 minutes ago, Arynm said:

I also question the fact that the police don't seem to have any problem with the fact that the security guard pulled a gun on them, demanded they get out of the car, and made them sit on the curb until they paid for any damages.

Yeah, I agree. I wouldn't call it extortion but, while again making no excuses for asshole Lochte and his band of idiots, pulling a gun on them in that situation seems rather extreme. I mean...that just seems really, really extreme.

[ohjoy]

(I don't know why I'm still trying to come up with a reasonable headcanon that makes sense out of all the insanity and finger-pointing going on with this ridiculous incident, but my current theory is:)

This is going to be such a headache if it boils down to language barriers and cultural misunderstandings -- that these drunk Americans don't understand the difference between "stuck" and "locked" and break a door (among other things?) and can't differentiate security guards in other countries from the true police force (why would you expect them to be able to?). So they get back in the car expecting to be able to leave, but the norms of the location mean that the gas station people would not expect to just let people go without involving the police or at least getting retribution for the damages that the drunk Americans caused, so the security guards treat the Americans like people who appear to be refusing to listen to instruction and trying to leave the scene of a crime, pulling their guns and demanding that they get out of the taxi and sit outside the vehicle while the police are called (perhaps even going so far as to temporarily take their wallets from them to help ensure they won't try to run away). The Americans are suitably freaked by having guns pointed at them, but finally figure out that gas station people want money from them. They give them money and are eventually let go. So on the one hand you've got the local people thinking that they've done what's necessary to get the situation with the vandalism and damage taken care of, and on the other hand you've got drunk Americans thinking they've just been forced to give up cash to police-looking people pointing guns at them.

Then the Americans go around claiming to have been robbed at gunpoint (because, not understanding the language and not being sober enough at the time to correctly read the situation, that's the story they're sticking with), and it takes a few days for the gas station people to realize "hey, they're talking about us." At which point they start going, "No, that's a lie, they weren't robbed, they're vandals," and chaos ensues.

Edited August 18, 2016 by RandomMe
apostrophe catastrophe = "apostastrophe?"

[Arynm]

6 minutes ago, RandomMe said:

(I don't know why I'm still trying to come up with a reasonable headcanon that makes sense out of all the insanity and finger-pointing going on with this ridiculous incident, but my current theory is:)

This is going to be such a headache if it boils down to language barriers and cultural misunderstandings -- that these drunk American's don't understand the difference between "stuck" and "locked" and break a door (among other things?) and can't differentiate security guards in other countries from the true police force (why would you expect them to be able to?). So they get back in the car expecting to be able to leave, but the norms of the location mean that the gas station people would not expect to just let people go without involving the police or at least getting retribution for the damages that the drunk Americans caused, so the security guards treat the Americans like people who appear to be refusing to listen to instruction and trying to leave the scene of a crime, pulling their guns and demanding that they get out of the taxi and sit outside the vehicle while the police are called (perhaps even going so far as to temporarily take their wallets from them to help ensure they won't try to run away). The Americans are suitably freaked by having guns pointed at them, but finally figure out that gas station people want money from them. They give them money and are eventually let go. So on the one hand you've got the local people thinking that they've done what's necessary to get the situation with the vandalism and damage taken care of, and on the other hand you've got drunk American's thinking they've just been forced to give up cash to police-looking people pointing guns at them.

Then the American's go around claiming to have been robbed at gunpoint (because, not understanding the language and not being sober enough at the time to correctly read the situation, that's the story they're sticking with), and it takes a few days for the gas station people to realize "hey, they're talking about us." At which point they start going, "No, that's a lie, they weren't robbed, they're vandals," and chaos ensues.

I like this story, everyone comes out looking relatively clean. Of course this isn't going to be the way it goes down, but one can hope

[Daisy]

I don't think I like the communication director trying to wipe this away as "boys will be boys."
Lochte is 32. I don't think you can pull that one out of your hat. 

[caprice]

Every time I hear something on this story, an old song runs through my head. I think some of you will recognize it.

"I like 'em big and stupid!"

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, Matt K said:

The two swimmers were arrested, just not charged (which yes is a technical detail) as the warrant was for their arrest and seizure of their passports.  Honestly, seizing the passports is a type of arrest, as they are being deprived of their liberty by a governmental agency.  

 

They were detained not arrested.

[greyhorse]

Is the "Ryan lied to his mom to explain where all his money went" confirmed, or is that just speculation?  I'm sure Ryan Lochte is not hurting for money, so it seems odd that his mother would hold him accountable for every dollar in his wallet.

He should have just admitted that they got too drunk and apologize for their behavior.  Instead, it's become a worldwide incident that the Games will be remembered for.  What a buffoon.

I don't want to see Ryan Lochte back in Tokyo.  

[BlackberryJam]

Is it wrong of me to want all the other countries in the world to just refuse these four assholes entrance? Like, "Dude, you can't be trusted not to be a jackass. Instead of taking the risk of something happening, you're just not welcome within our borders. Stay in the US where you belong, garbage child."

[pennben]

Apparently Lochte and Feigen were just indicted for false reporting of a crime, according to ABC news. 

Edited August 18, 2016 by pennben

[biakbiak]

2 minutes ago, pennben said:

Apparently Lochte and Feigen were just 'indicted' for false reporting of a crime, according to ABC news. 

Lochte must be so freaking happy he had an early flight, especially because he seems the main instigator of all of this.

[Ohwell]

Lochte & Crew might be idiots but I don't think their "crimes" were at all serious, and I also do not think that they deserve to be pilloried.   I think that the Brazilian pearl-clutching is ridiculous, and I also do not think that video tells the whole story.  

Frankly, if the Brazilian government told me that I would never be welcome in their country, I would say "Thank You!"

[maraleia]

5 hours ago, FuriousStyles said:

Not to be all Monday morning QBing, but i thought Lochte was lying from the beginning.  I saw a clip of him detailing his ordeal to a reporter and it wasnt even about what he was saying, it was how he was saying it. It sounded like he was actually trying to remember what to say...as if lying.  IMO, if you had just been held at gunpoint a night or 2 before you'd be able to be a bit more convincing than what I saw.  I dont even know the details or what actually happened and frankly I dont really care. Lochte has always come across to me as the typical douchebag frat boy. This story doesn't tarnish my opinion of him at all.

I thought he way lying from the beginning too. The fact that he told his mom and not the authorities sent up the red flags for me.

[BlackberryJam]

If during a Chicago Olympics, four French athletes went out, got drunk, peed on a wall, were total dicks to a store owner, got reprimanded by a security guard and came back to the Olympic village with a story about being held up at gunpoint, causing a false police report to be made, insinuating corruption in the Chicago police force (heh!) and that the city was unsafe, the anti-French rage would run rampant throughout the country, probably culminating with a bill in Congress pushing for the return of the Statute of Liberty.

Making a false police report IS a big deal. Whether I do it in the city I live, or a stranger does it. It consumes police resources, which could have been out there preventing and investigating actual crime. Is it the worst crime to commit on foreign soil? Of course not. No one is saying it is. Is it a crime worthy of prosecution? Absolutely. Will Brazil do more than charge them, fine them and send them home? Probably not.

[tanyak]

I would love to know what the rest of the swim team is thinking about this foolishness. But I'm sure USA Swimming put a gag order on them with the quickness. 

Edited August 18, 2016 by tanyak

[OSM Mom]

I always thought Lockte was a moron.  This just proves me right.  And they can stuff the "Boys will be boys" crap somewhere.  

[BitterApple]

17 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

Lochte & Crew might be idiots but I don't think their "crimes" were at all serious, and I also do not think that they deserve to be pilloried.   I think that the Brazilian pearl-clutching is ridiculous, and I also do not think that video tells the whole story.  

Frankly, if the Brazilian government told me that I would never be welcome in their country, I would say "Thank You!"

I agree. Compared to body parts washing up on the beach and the insane murder rate in Rio, a bunch of drunk jerks lying to the cops is hardly the crime of the century. I'm not sure why this has been blown out of proportion. It's not like Rio had some fabulous reputation that was irreparably tarnished by Lochte and his crew. They should pay damages and apologize but I don't think this warrants mass outrage.

[Raachel2008]

1 hour ago, RandomMe said:

So they get back in the car expecting to be able to leave, but the norms of the location mean that the gas station people would not expect to just let people go without involving the police or at least getting retribution for the damages that the drunk Americans caused, 

All your post makes a lot of sense,  but where in the entire world four grown up adults trash something and believe they will be able to leave without paying for the damage or the police being involved? 

Oh, wait, it is called enttittlement.

Edited August 18, 2016 by Raachel2008

[stealinghome]

1 minute ago, Raachel2008 said:

All your post makes a lot of sense,  but where in the entire world four grown up adults trash something and believe they will be able to leave without paying for the damage or the police being involved? 

I'm not defending it, but I actually feel like that's pretty common behavior for a bunch of drunk idiots? Sober adults wouldn't make the assumption, no, but drunk idiots are a different ball game.

[evilmindatwork]

With  the grand total of all the crime being committed in Rio, is this a big deal? No. But to that gas station owner whose business they vandalized it was a big deal. To whoever was working the register at that place, it was probably a big deal. They were of tall, strong, young athletes probably yelling and screaming and scaring the crap out of people. Then they went and lied about it because they thought they could get away with it. I'm totally ok with the Brazilians, within reason, holding them accountable for it. The sad part about this is is that there were Olympians who were mugged and had their property stolen, and this story distracts from that.  This is a story about bunch of privileged dicks thinking they can do whatever they want to a funny foreigners in a  funny foreign country and they should absolutely held accountable for it. 

Edited August 19, 2016 by evilmindatwork

[Ohwell]

6 minutes ago, evilmindatwork said:

The sad part about this is is that there were Olympians who were mugged and had their property stolen, and this story distracts from that.

Which is even more reason why it's stupid for the Brazilian government to make such a big deal out of this incident.  The resources they've used, and will continue to use, to address this case should be used on the other cases where people actually were mugged and robbed, and to find the rest of the poor bastard's body with the missing leg.   

28 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

If during a Chicago Olympics, four French athletes went out, got drunk, peed on a wall, were total dicks to a store owner, got reprimanded by a security guard and came back to the Olympic village with a story about being held up at gunpoint, causing a false police report to be made, insinuating corruption in the Chicago police force (heh!) and that the city was unsafe, the anti-French rage would run rampant throughout the country, probably culminating with a bill in Congress pushing for the return of the Statute of Liberty.

Well, in Chicago that would have been regarded as a quiet night out.

[BlackberryJam]

Absolutely agree, evilmind. The US athletes wasted, and continue to waste, important resources that could be used to combat actual crime, like drunk assholes peeing on walls and vandalizing stores.

[windsprints]

I don't know anything about Rio's legal system - what would happen to a local person if they did the same thing? What level of crime is this considered and what is the punishment (generally)?