[Loud Mime]

those were North Korean super bills, no crime was committed. /s

[duckman]

Japs watching too many Chicago style politics movies.

[hoosiermama]

GIve new meaning to “pay to play”

[ghost of nixon]

I am imagining this is how Obamacare will end up working - except I don’t get the wad of hundreds back...

[babble-on]

it’s MANDATORY.

You pay for the appeal, and if your appeal is upheld, the money is returned.

[Raycpa]

Could we try this at home?

[DBrow]

I’ve been in NRA Regionals where there is a fee to challenge a score. Lose the challenge, lose the $, win the challenge, you get our dollar back.

[9YearLurker]

The Olympics is merely the UN of sports—which is why it holds very little appeal for me.

[DManA]

The bribe was returned because someone got a picture of it.

[randog]

Although it’s a good idea to institute a penalty to keep “capricious challenges” to a minimum, shelling out $$ has the appearance of impropriety. Perhaps, in keeping with the Olympic spirit, Tanya Harding could be on hand to kneecap the challenging athlete should they lose their challenge...??

[Buckeye McFrog]

I thought the Japanese had some horrible cultural taboo about handling cash?

[fishtank]

That is actually a GOOD sign!!!

US dollars are STILL Number 1!!!

Not euros, not pounds sterling, not renminbi, not rubles.... haha...

[Zionist Conspirator]

I watched this go down last night and thought it was awful. But lousy judging is an Olympic tradition. It wouldn't be the Olympics without something like the USA vs. USSR men's basketball deal in Munich in '72.

I disagree that it was "jarring," however. The announcers explained that a fee had to be paid to make an appeal, that the money was kept if the appeal was rejected, and returned if it was approved. The judges returned the money. So that's not the problem here.

I still agree it was a lousy call, though. That Japanese guy's "handstand" was awful.

[Wise Hectare]

"The plaintiff's attorney asked for a private conference; afterwards, I discovered an envelope containing two thousand dollars on the chair he'd been sitting in. The defendant's attorney also asked for a private conference; he left an envelope containing three thousand dollars. The defendant's attorney will now approach the bench to receive a refund of one thousand dollars, after which I will hear both sides and judge the case according to its merits."