Michael Moore Issues Rousing Defense of Lochte

Get the facts straight before judging, he writes
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 25, 2016 1:51 PM CDT
Michael Moore Issues Rousing Defense of Lochte
Ryan Lochte checks his time in a men's 4x200-meter freestyle heat at Rio.   (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)

Is there anyone getting more universally vilified than Ryan Lochte these days? Like so. The swimmer, however, finally has a high-profile name in his corner in Michael Moore. In a scathing Facebook post, Moore ridicules what he sees as the hypocritical and way-out-of-line treatment Lochte. "How dare you say you had a gun pulled on you by a guy with a badge who demanded money from you when in fact you had a guy with a badge pull a gun on you and demand money from you!" he asks. Matt Lauer, for one, has declared that this wasn't a robbery but a "negotiation," Moore notes. "Oh ye gods of justice, I pray a man in a uniform pulls a gun on Matt Lauer tonight after the Billy Joel concert at the Garden and demand[s] money from him," writes Moore. Just remember to call it a negotiation.

And what about all the fishiness surrounding the behavior of the security guards and police, not the least of which is the convenient disappearance of minutes of tape. Who could make that happen? "Surely not the kangaroo court that wouldn't return the passport of the swimmer until he gave the 'judge' $11,000 to the judge's favorite 'charity'—and then sign a statement they prepared for him blaming said criminal Ryan Lochte?!" Yes, Lochte was drunk, and he admittedly exaggerated parts of the story. Crucify him! "There's so much hate going around these days, we even throw it at a guy who's the second most decorated swimmer ever," writes Moore. "Yeah, f--- you Ryan Lochte! And God Bless these United States of America, where everyone gets to throw the first stone." Click for the full post. (More Michael Moore stories.)

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