I’ve read a lot of comments from people who say that Lochte’s misstatements (I’m not sure they were actually lies) are worse than the Brazilian police shaking down the swimmers for thousnads of dollars.
For those people it all seems to boil down to the fact that Lochte was rich, successful and handsome. That’s why they really want to see him punished.
Sounds to me like you nailed it. The outright hatred for Lochte in some quarters, and the holier than thou severity of harsh judgement from others, hardly seems to fit the crime. He was publicly accused of trashing a bathroom he never entered. He had the entire Brazilian government lying about him. He lost all his endorsements.
And the reaction is, GOOD! He deserved it!
There’s no proportionality. It’s just, condemn Lochte—and if you don’t, you’re naive or stupid.
I read the autobiography of a British Olympic class athlete. He could have drunk Lochte under the table three or four times. Shockingly [s/] he and his mates pulled a few pranks in their (drinking) days. But nothing ever came of it. They were never even shaken down for money.
I guess we need to make exaggeration a felony, and somehow make the penalty retroactive. If we can just land Lochte’s sorry rear end in prison, perhaps the hatred will subside.