FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Sports

Lochtegate Update: Reports of "US Swimmer" Fighting Gas Station Security Make Crazy story Even Crazier [MORE UPDATES]

We seem to be getting closer to the truth of what happened to Ryan Lochte and his teammates in Rio the night of their supposed robbery.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

This story has been unfolding quickly and you can click here for the latest updates, including reports that a "U.S. swimmer" was involved in a fight with a gas station security guard the night of the alleged robbery.

We may be getting closer and closer to the truth behind Lochtegate—Jeah, I went there. When last we checked in with Ryan Lochte and his swimming teammates Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, and Jimmy Feigen, they were seen going through security at the Olympics village with most of their personal belongings cleary visible on the night of the supposed robbery. Then we found out that a Brazilian judge was going to have Lochte's and Feigen's passports seized while police continued to investigate the claims. Lochte was already back in the States by then, but Bentz and Conger tried skipping town, only to have Brazilian authorities remove them from their flight back home.

Advertisement

From USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky:

"Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz were detained Wednesday night shortly before their flight was scheduled to depart from Rio," Sandusky said. "They were released by local authorities with the understanding that they would continue their discussions about the incident on Thursday. James Feigen is also communicating with local authorities and intends to make further statements regarding the incident on Thursday as well. We will continue to provide updated information as it is appropriate."

No one knew where Feigen was, he could have been on the lam in Rio or back home like Lochte, but now it seems we've finally tracked him down and Christine Brennan reports that Bentz, Conger, and Feigen are at a hotel in Rio, accompanied by USOC officials, and will "likely be questioned today." But, what for?

#BREAKING Brazilian authorities tell @ABC video shows "US swimmer" "breaking down" gas station restroom door "fighting" w/ security guard
— Matt Gutman (@mattgutmanABC) August 18, 2016

#BREAKING Brazil sources: #RyanLochte + 3 swimmers fabricated robbery story. Video shows swimmer "fighting" w/security at gas station @GMA
— Matt Gutman (@mattgutmanABC) August 18, 2016

Well, this seems sort of bad. The initial reason Lochte's and Feigen's passports were going to be seized was because authorities suspected them of false communication of a crime. In Brazil filing a false police report can earn you anywhere from six months to three years in jail, and/or a fine. But this is much worse now, if this ABC report is true. We're talking assault, battery, and property damage and then they made up story about a robbery and tried—some more successfully than others—to bolt town.

Advertisement

No one other than Lochte's parents are really talking at this point—Lochte's dad said his son was going to pick up his car and replace the wallet he had stolen, so he's still on message, which is good—although The San Antonio Express-News was able to get in touch with Feigen but he declined comment, because he's in a "shitstorm."

"I can't talk right now," Feigen said. "I'm being s----stormed right now. I'm still in Brazil and (an interview) is going to have to wait."

There are a lot of amazing and incredible things about this story but, for my money, I don't think it gets any better than Lochte and crew coming up with a fake story where they specifically reference the gas station where they were involved in an incident they were trying to cover up in the first place.

Update: Brazilian police spoke with local outlet Globo and said this whole thing was a "confusion" involving the four swimmers at the gas station. Their cab did stop there, and then it seems that something happened in the bathroom because the manager was eventually called and found it all jacked up. There's also a report that the swimmers pissed all over the station:

This is the Google translate of the https://t.co/4hwt28hmHt article with more details of Lochte's bro frat night pic.twitter.com/5Isw7N98xM
— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) August 18, 2016

Security tried to keep them on site, but two of the swimmers took off and ran away. Security apparently pulled a gun on the other two to keep them there while police arrived. The police also said that the swimmers offered the gas station manager $20 and 100 reais to cover the damage they caused.

Advertisement

So, in a way, the fabricated story has a thread of truth running through it: some swimmers may have been out some cash, guns were involved and, uh, that's it, I guess.

Update 2:

Unsurprisingly, Conger and Bentz say that Ryan Lochte made up the robbery story:

UPDATE: Ryan Lochte's teammates told police that robbery story had been fabricated by Lochte.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 18, 2016

Update 3: Brazilian media reports that Lochte and Feigen have been indicted for falsely reporting a crime. Lochte, according to both his attorney and father, is home in the United States, so unless he's extradited, there doesn't seem to be much they can do about that. Feigen, on the other hand, was still in Rio today.

Polícia do Rio acaba de indiciar os nadadores Ryan Lochte e James Feigen por falsa comunicação de crime. #GloboNews
— GloboNews (@GloboNews) August 18, 2016

JUST IN: US swimmers Ryan Lochte and James Feigen indicted for false reporting of crime, Brazilian police tell @ABC. https://t.co/SuwGNhJvOb
— ABC News (@ABC) August 18, 2016

Update 4, August 19th: Another day, another steady stream of updates from this mess.

Despite reports of an indictment yesterday evening, ESPN says that police are merely recommending Lochte and Feigen be indicted. Any indictment still needs to be approved by prosecutors.

Meanwhile, Feigen appears to have reached some sort of agreement with authorities, which according to his lawyer involves a $11,000 donation to an as-yet-unnamed charity.

And Ryan Lochte wants everyone to know that he's real sorry.

[USA Today]