So here’s the version of events given at a press conference by Brazilian police, which was apparently confirmed by one of the swimmers (not Ryan Lochte), and other witnesses, mostly likely with a pro-Brazilian slant here: The story was brought to the authorities’ attention, apparently by women the swimmers “stayed with,” who knew that Lochte’s version of the story wasn’t wholly accurate. Either the women or the driver said the swimmers had motive to lie about the story. One of the swimmers, apparently Lochte, was highly intoxicated and went into a gas station bathroom and, for some reason, probably because he was a belligerently drunk douchebag, broke a mirror, sign and perhaps other equipment. The swimmers tried to leave and told their taxi driver to go, but a gas station security guard(s) convinced the cab driver to wait for police. The swimmers didn’t want to stay. At some point, the security guard pulled a gun in an attempt to get the swimmers to stay. A third person offered to interpret the disagreement, since the security guard spoke Portugese. At this point an agreement was reached to pay the security guard 100 real and $20 for the damage. That totals about $50. Police said there was no violence on the part of the security guard.

Lochte’s version says fake police with only badges pulled them over, approached the cab, forced the swimmers out of the car, held a gun to his head, and took their money. The only portion of that which is wholly untrue is the part where Lochte said they were pulled over– they weren’t, they were already there. He also admitted to Matt Lauer that the gun wasn’t held right to his head.

I can’t believe I’m about to do this, but I kind of side with Lochte here, at least insofar as the story isn’t a complete lie. His details were a bit off, but it is very easy to interpret a sketchy gas station security guard (who has them?) at 6 a.m. pointing a gun in your car and, in a foreign language, demanding you pay him money as a robbery. As a FOX news panelist just said as I type this, these are minor inconsistencies that are present in many traumatic events… especially drunken traumatic events. Security guards pointing guns at you over non-threatening incidents is not standard in America. This isn’t normal. You’re in fucking Brazil at a gas station and a rent-a-cop is preventing you from leaving, with a gun, over $50 worth of damage to what was presumably a wretched bathroom? Yeah, I’d immediately go extortion – and maybe even robbery – in my description of events. What’s more, the portion of the video that shows the security guard approaching the car, leading with his gun, skips ahead from the initial contact until the swimmers got out of the car. Check the timestamps:

Lochte2

What happened in those two and a half minutes?

So there’s clearly another side to this story. And even though one of the swimmers – who mind you was being held in Brazil – said that Lochte’s version of events was bullshit, there’s obviously room for interpretation. Lochte (and apparently the other swimmers) glossed over the part – which is completely unverifiable at this point – about vandalizing the bathroom. That’s a douchey thing to do, but let’s be honest, being a little destructive in a gas station bathroom is hardly at the top of the list of dumb drunk things. Lochte may also in fact be too stupid, or was too fucking drunk, to realize that it wasn’t fake police but actually a pissed off security guard, and thus his immediate, foggy interpretation was that he was robbed… which, in a way, he kind of was. It’s easy to take shots at him, but me thinks your mind sometimes runs wild after you had a gun pointed at you in the middle of the night at a Brazilian gas station. At the very least this was a shakedown or extortion, and at worst, it was a robbery. Keep in mind that Brazil has a PR angle to take here after all the ridiculousness that has gone on before and during the games (there are other robbing, gunshot incidents!), so they have something to gain by exploiting the inconsistencies in Lochte’s story. A sketchy fake cop did point a gun at the swimmers, sit them down, and demand money. The police claim that there is no evidence that he was excessive in his demands, but who the fuck is the arbiter of that? Brazilian gas station attendants? The security guard himself? The homeless guy promised a fucking burrito in exchange for favorable testimony? Brazil is a shitshow and the pistol-carrying security guard at a fucking gas station is probably not the most stable person on the planet, so excuse me if I’m inclined to believe an imbecile American over a guy who just whipped out a gun in exchange for a few bucks and a corrupt country with an image problem that hates American dominance.

Look, Lochte is a douchebag, and he went a little Brian Williams with this story. But the fact is, he was held at gunpoint – something the Brazilian police chief was eager to gloss over – and forced to pay money to the “fake cop” holding it. The real truth is probably somewhere in the middle here– Lochte and the other swimmers may not have been robbed completely at random, but they also were very likely extorted at gunpoint.

I hate Ryan Lochte. But is this whole ordeal making me hate him just a little bit less in the name of America, goddammit? Jeah!