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.
Personally, I don’t hate the guy. (I don’t respect him either, it sounds like the behavior of a 17 year old on a school trip for the first time)
The issue isn’t proportionality...heck, nearly everyone would agree it is stupidly out of proportion. There is no proportionality.
And we certainly aren’t sticking up for “cops” who may just be people known by someone important who have the privilege of being able to stick a gun in someone’s face demanding cash.
The issue isn’t that for most people I see on this issue. It is that he put himself into that situation.
Just my two-cents.