U.S. Swimmer Jimmy Feigen Claims Rio Officials Asked for Nearly $50K to Allow Him to Leave

The whole Ryan Lochte "robbery" incident—or whatever you want to call it at this point—has inspired an absurd amount of attention, discussion, and think pieces, and it has turned into a nightmare for all those involved. And while Lochte has remained the focal point of the story, there were three other swimmers with him on that fateful Sunday morning. One of them, Gunnar Bentz, provided his side of the story when he arrived back in the U.S. last Friday, and now, another swimmer, Jimmy Feigen, has also released a statement about what he believes happened in Rio.

In his statement, Feigen says the U.S. swimmers never entered the gas station bathroom they were accused of vandalizing, which was backed up by security camera footage. He also says that a man with a gun was waiting outside of the swimmers' cab when they tried to leave and ordered him and Bentz to sit down while speaking in Portuguese and pointing a gun at them. He says that, although he couldn't understand the man, he did understand that him and Bentz were asked to hand over money, which they did. And when they arrived back at the Olympic Village, Feigen says he was asked to speak with a Rio police official and then sign a statement about the incident that wasn't translated into English. As a result, he says he omitted several of the other events that took place at the gas station. For example, he admits that the four swimmers urinated outside of the gas station after they failed to gain access to the bathroom, and he also admits that Lochte ripped a metal frame off a wall as the men were leaving.

In his statement, Feigen also describes what happened after the night in question. On the day Feigen was scheduled to return to the U.S., he says his passport was seized and he was taken for a follow-up interview at a Rio police station where he revealed some of the things that had been omitted from his previous statement. From there, he says he was given the choice to either stay in Brazil for more than a month while police continued their investigation or pay a fine of $31,250 to get his passport back while also committing to perform 15 days of community service. After balking at the fine, Feigen says it was then increased to $46,875.

Eventually, Feigen called on his lawyer for advice and the two sides agreed he would pay $10,800 to avoid prosecution. Feigen claims Rio officials then told him he had three days to pay the fine or it would be increased back up to $46,875. After making the payment, he says got his passport back and was able to leave.

At this point, it's hard to tell who is telling the truth. But you can read Feigen's entire statement here.