Gold-medal winner James Feigen, now safely back in Texas, apologized for his role in the Ryan Lochte incident at the Rio Olympic Games, describing in detail negotiations by his lawyers for his release by Brazilian authorities.
Feigen, 26, apologized for the “serious distractions” from the Games that the incident caused, then supplied his version of that embarrassing night out in Rio and how he came to pay nearly $11,000 before leaving the country Saturday.
Feigen explained that the four, which also included Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz, did not initially tell authorities that when they stopped at a gas station to use the restroom and found it locked, they urinated in bushes and Lochte pulled a framed poster off the wall.
Lochte, in his first interview on the subject, described having a gun held to his forehead. He later apologized for “over-exaggerating” what happened as the four were returning to the Olympic Village after a party at around 5 a.m. on Aug. 14. Feigen describes what happened after the four hopped into a taxi:
“On our way back we asked the cab driver to pull over so we could relieve ourselves. We pulled over to a gas station to use the bathroom but the door was locked. We did not force entry into the bathroom nor did we ever enter the bathroom. We did, however, make the regrettable decision to urinate in the grass behind the building.
“On our way back to the cab, Ryan Lochte pulled a poster in a metal frame off a wall. I got back into the cab and waited for the others. One of my teammates told me that a man with a gun was standing outside the cab. The man with the gun spoke with the cab driver, who got out of the cab. We then got out of the cab and I paid the driver the fare. As I walked away, the man with the gun pointed it at me and my teammate and ordered us, in Portuguese, to sit. This was the first time I have ever had a gun pointed at me and I was terrified.
“I put my hands up and sat down on the curb. It became apparent that the man with the gun was telling us to pay, and I was unsure if they were affiliated with the gas station. Gunnar Bentz and I gave the man some money. We were then allowed to leave and we took another cab to the Village, arriving around 7 a.m. Later that day a Rio police detective came to the USA House to take a statement. Since I was the only person available, I was told by a USOC official to provide a statement.”
Feigen said that Brazilian prosecutors gave him the option of paying a fine or waiting a month while an investigation was conducted, so he agreed to pay a fine to a charity. Initially, he said, prosecutors wanted $31,500 (in American dollars) and 15 days of community service in exchange for the return of his passport, which he said he voluntarily provided. When his American lawyer rejected that amount, the fine was raised to nearly $47,000.
“Finally, all parties agreed to a R$35,000.00 ($10,800.00 USD) fine. This fine was to be paid within three days. If it was not paid, the fine would be increased back to R$150,000.00 ($46,875). I was able to contact my family in the United States along with my American attorneys and we were able to satisfy the payment of the fine the next day. My passport was returned to me after payment was received and I was able to return home.”
DOPING: Three champion weightlifters from China and eight other medalists stand to be stripped of their titles after failing retests of their doping samples from the 2008 Olympics.
The IWF said Chinese gold medalists Cao Lei, Liu Chunhong and Chen Xiexia all tested positive for GHRP-2, which stimulates growth hormone production, while Liu also tested positive for the stimulant sibutramine. The other eight include current world record holder Andrei Rybakou of Belarus.
WILLIAM O’BRIEN, named to head Ireland’s Olympic committee after its president was arrested in a ticket-scalping case at Rio, is also suspected of participating in the scheme but left Brazil before he could be questioned, police said.
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