Ryan Lochte in U.S. as Brazilian judge wants swimmers' passports seized

LooseGoose wrote:Looks like they were robbed......again the media leads the lemmings to a conclusion in opposition to truth....and of course John Oliver DESTROYS them....falsely.

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

You heard it all weekend:  “Four American swimmers trashed a Rio bathroom in a drunken rage and then lied to investigators about an armed robbery to cover-up their story.”

It’s become conventional wisdom from network anchors trying to paint a rosy picture on a troubled Olympics to journalists who embrace the narrative of “ugly Americans” taking advantage of the downtrodden, third world Brazilians.

There’s only one problem with this narrative: It appears it’s completely false.

USA Today has done a thorough and extensive investigation of the security videos from the gas station in question and they’ve done something Matt Lauer and Bob Costas sure haven’t done.  They interviewed the actual witnesses who were there the night of the incident. Their report today paints a very different picture of the media narrative Americans have been fed since Friday morning:

But a narrative of the night’s events – constructed by USA TODAY Sports from witness statements, official investigations, surveillance videos and media reports – supports Lochte’s later account in which he said he thought the swimmers were being robbed when they were approached at a gas station by armed men who flashed badges, pointed guns at them and demanded money.

Where I come from (Detroit) when someone points a weapon at you and will not let you leave until you give them money, it’s called “armed robbery.”  Yes, even in Detroit.  Now maybe the standard for “armed robbery” is different in Brazil.

Robert J Sakimano wrote:some of you people have very strong feelings about the behaviors of male swimmers.

Watch Out Pylon! wrote:

Robert J Sakimano wrote:some of you people have very strong feelings about the behaviors of male swimmers.

Sorry. Sometimes stupid posts elicits strong responses from me. I'm calm now.

Watch Out Pylon! wrote:

LooseGoose wrote:Looks like they were robbed......again the media leads the lemmings to a conclusion in opposition to truth....and of course John Oliver DESTROYS them....falsely.

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

Wait wait wait wait. You're defending this idiot? And your proof is from something called Hotair.com? Maybe Hotair.com should let all of his sponsors know about this groundbreaking discovery. Maybe Hotair.com knows all about the faked moon landings. Maybe Hotair.com is the only unbiased news source in the whole world because literally no one else is taking this viewpoint. 

This must be part of a vast WORLDWIDE conspiracy. What was he apologizing for if It appears it’s completely false?

Holy shitballs man, not everything has to be a political witchhunt. Sometimes idiots do idiotic things.

Watch Out Pylon! wrote:

Robert J Sakimano wrote:some of you people have very strong feelings about the behaviors of male swimmers.

Sorry. Sometimes stupid posts elicits strong responses from me. I'm calm now.

LooseGoose wrote:

Watch Out Pylon! wrote:

Wait wait wait wait. You're defending this idiot? And your proof is from something called Hotair.com? Maybe Hotair.com should let all of his sponsors know about this groundbreaking discovery. Maybe Hotair.com knows all about the faked moon landings. Maybe Hotair.com is the only unbiased news source in the whole world because literally no one else is taking this viewpoint. 

This must be part of a vast WORLDWIDE conspiracy. What was he apologizing for if It appears it’s completely false?

Holy shitballs man, not everything has to be a political witchhunt. Sometimes idiots do idiotic things.

Read the article sweetie - they're quoting from the USA Today investigation I posted earlier and interviews with ACTUAL witnesses unlike your buddy John the Destroyer.

Watch Out Pylon! wrote:Also, answer my question. What is Lochte apologizing for if the narrative is completely false? Which time was he lying, because it either has to be his original story or his apology. Why are his sponsors dropping him if the narrative is completely false? Don't you think Lochte had a chance to explain his side of the story? If he did that and his top sponsors have dropped him does that not tell you anything? Use a bit of logic once in a while instead of being spoon fed the narrative you want to believe.

LooseGoose wrote:

Watch Out Pylon! wrote:Also, answer my question. What is Lochte apologizing for if the narrative is completely false? Which time was he lying, because it either has to be his original story or his apology. Why are his sponsors dropping him if the narrative is completely false? Don't you think Lochte had a chance to explain his side of the story? If he did that and his top sponsors have dropped him does that not tell you anything? Use a bit of logic once in a while instead of being spoon fed the narrative you want to believe.

1) Because he knows in the current environment of pantywaists that if he doesn't apologize the media will continue to roast his ass.   Well guess what?   He apologized and they're cooking him anyway.

2) His sponsors are dropping him because most corporations are pussies.  They don't want the bad media coverage going on in the above answer.   So right or wrong doesn't matter, just how it's going to be covered.

3) Yes, he did.  And has.  I'm no fan of Lochte but this all got started by a reporter that basically stalked his mother then sent out a tweet on a pretty flimsy basis.  Ever since then the story has had 2-3-4 sets of "facts" and as usual multiple rushes to judgment.

4)  Yes.   He was doing damage control and it didn't help him at all that Speedo and Ralph Lauren were pussies - not that it should surprise anyone that they caved.

LMAO - on "spoonfed" after you posted that fucking Oliver drivel...amazing you can even type that sentence.

NigelUno wrote:Did the other 2 swimmers say it was armed robbery? They are witnesses also, correct?

StylesGShmooth wrote:

NigelUno wrote:Did the other 2 swimmers say it was armed robbery? They are witnesses also, correct?

Yeah, didn't all four swimmers already admit that Lochte was lying? Isn't there video of the incident and video of Lochte checking into the village with the stuff he said was stole in his hands?

In a statement released Friday, Bentz confirmed police accounts that indicated Lochte damaged a sign during the incident and got into a “heated exchange” with the guards. But Bentz, who said authorities viewed him as a witness and never a suspect in the case, offered a narrative that closely matches Lochte’s revised account that he gave to Lauer three days after the incident. Bentz said his recollection was that money was demanded from the Americans by armed men in order for the swimmers to be allowed to leave.

While bystander Deluz and the police said the amount paid was for property vandalized, it is unclear whether the swimmers understood the situation.

At a news conference Thursday, Rio police chief Fernando Veloso characterized the athletes' actions at the gas station as vandalism. He said they also had broken a soap dispenser and mirror inside the restroom. Reports quickly grew that the Americans had trashed the restroom.

A USA TODAY Sports videographer who visited the bathroom Thursday found no damage to soap dispensers and mirrors and said none of those items appeared to be new. Some media accounts suggested the men had broken down a door, which USA TODAY Sports also did not observe.

Bentz said in his statement that he believes there are surveillance videos shot from different angles that have not been released. He also said he did not see anyone damage the bathroom or even enter it.

That does not match the account of Bentz, who said the swimmers were held at gunpoint until they paid.

“I gave them what I had in my wallet, which was a $20 bill, and Jimmy gave them 100 reais, which is about $50 in total. They lowered the guns, and I used hand gestures to ask if it was OK to leave, and they said yes,” he said in his statement.

In the NBC interview that aired Saturday, Lochte said, “It’s how you want to make it look like. Whether you call it a robbery, whether you call it extortion or us just paying for the damages. Like, we don’t know. All we know is there was a gun pointed in our direction and we were demanded to give money.’’

Video also supports Lochte’s contention that one of the guards prevented the cabbie from driving off.

What happened next could be attributed to cultural and linguistic clumsiness or to the swimmers allegedly being inebriated.

"Two men, whom I believe to have been security guards, then instructed us to exit the vehicle. No guns were drawn during this exchange, but we did see a gun tucked into one of the guard's waistband,” Bentz said. “As Jimmy (Feigen) and Jack (Conger) were walking away from the vehicle, the first security guard held up a badge to me and drew his handgun. I yelled to them to come back toward us, and they complied. Then the second guard drew his weapon and both guards pointed their guns at us and yelled at us to sit on a nearby sidewalk.”

Bystander Deluz described the drawing of the weapons by the two guards as a reaction to the athletes' attempt to leave the scene.

LooseGoose wrote:

Watch Out Pylon! wrote:

Sorry. Sometimes stupid posts elicits strong responses from me. I'm calm now.

Stupid posts come from people that don't read on the subject being discussed. Find a mirror and use it.

NigelUno wrote:Which version of Lochte's story are they verifying? The second or the third?

NigelUno wrote:

LooseGoose wrote:

You're sort of a dense fucker at times.

Well...I know it wasn't the first version.