Jimmy Feigen Last of the 4 Gas Station Swimmers to Release Statement

Jimmy Feigen, the last of the now-infamous 4 American swimmers who were involved in the gas station incident in Rio de Janeiro over a week ago, has released a statement through his attorney.

Feigen took the brunt of the legal ramifications of the incident; his cohort and training partner Ryan Lochte had already left the country by the time Brazilian officials charged the two with falsifying a police report, and the other two swimmers, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, were treated only as witnesses rather than suspects.

Feigen begins with an apology for “the serious distractions” from the Olympics and saying that he has “nothing but respect” for the hosts in Rio for “undertaking the massive responsibility of hosting the Olympics.” He also said he felt their performance was “exemplary.”

He then gives an account of the situation that largely reflects that given by Bentz and Conger in their official statements: that they pulled over to use a restroom, which was locked, urinated on the wall of the gas station, Lochte pulled a sign off the wall, a security guard pointed a gun at them, they paid $50 ostensibly for the damages caused, and were allowed to return to the Athletes’ Village.

Feigen, however, as one of the official statement-makers to Brazilian police, along with Lochte, did acknowledge that he omitted some of these key details from his statement to police. Specifically, he says he didn’t mention that the swimmers urinated behind the building or that Lochte pulled the poster off the wall.

The new information revealed in Feigen’s statement largely has to do with the experience relating to him allegedly not being allowed to leave the country and having to make a donation to charity. He says that his passport wasn’t taken from him per se, but that he voluntarily surrendered it after Brazilian authorities requested it be held. That part of the statement is below:

On the day I was scheduled to leave Rio, I was told that the police were investigating the matter and my passport was to be held until further information was provided. I was asked to stay in the country so I voluntarily provided my passport to the police and waited while the matter was investigated. I contacted lawyers in the United States and in Rio de Janeiro and awaited instruction.

I was informed by my Brazilian attorney that the police were requesting I make a follow-up statement. I provided the statement at the police station, which included the previous omissions. From there I was taken to the Brazilian court. I waited outside while my attorney, the prosecutor, and the judge met to decide what to do.

Feigen then discusses that he was given the option to remain in Brazil while the investigation continued or to pay a fine of $100,000 Brazilian Reais (approx. $31,250 USD) and serve 15 days of community service, but that after discussing with his attorneys, they rejected the latter offer as “unreasonable” and unsafe.

Instead, they negotiated down to a R$35,000 (approxi $10,800 USD) fine to be paid within 3 days.

That fine was to come in the donation to a charity, with the recipient having been revealed by Brazilian sources as the Instituto Reação (Reaction Institute). The organization, run by a former Olympic medalist, involves training Brazilians in judo both with the goal of producing world-class judo talent and causing social change for many poor citizens of the country. The academy has previously received a $30,000USD donation from American fighter Ronda Rousey, among others.

Unlike with Ryan Lochte, who has lost at least 4 sponsors in the last week, no announcements have been made publicly from any sponsors about Feigen. He has previously been sponsored by both Mutual of Omaha and the New York Athletic Club, the latter of whom omitted Feigen from a recent email sent out to its email list congratulating NYAC’s gold medalists.

Feigen’s full statement, released through his attorney at the Hull Firm, is below.

First and foremost I would like to apologize for the serious distractions from the Olympics, Rio de Janeiro, and Team USA. It was never my intent to draw attention away from the tradition of athletic competition and the symbolic cooperation of countries participating in the Olympic games. I want to thank the IOC and the people of Rio de Janeiro for their hospitality in hosting these games. I have nothing but respect for the city in undertaking the massive responsibility of hosting the Olympics and I feel their performance was exemplary.

I also apologize for the delay in this statement as I just arrived back home late Saturday evening. That being said, I would like to take the time to explain my thoughts on the events that began on August 14th.

This unfortunate incident began after leaving a celebration at the French House. We left the party at around 5:00 am in a taxi to travel back to the Athlete Village. On our way back we asked the cab driver to pull over so we could relieve ourselves. We pulled over to a gas station to use the bathroom but the door was locked. We did not force entry into the bathroom, nor did we ever enter the bathroom. We did, however, make the regrettable decision to urinate in the grass behind the building.

On our way back to the cab, Ryan Lochte pulled a poster in a metal frame off a wall. I got back into the cab and waited for the others. One of my teammates told me that a man with a gun was standing outside the cab. The man with the gun spoke with the cab driver, who got out of the cab. We then got out of the cab and I paid the driver the fare. As I walked away, the man with the gun pointed it at me and my teammate and ordered us, in Portuguese, to sit. This was the first time I have ever had a gun pointed at me and I was terrified.

I put my hands up and sat down on the curb. It became apparent that the man with the gun was telling us to pay, and I was unsure if they were affiliated with the gas station. Gunnar Bentz and I gave the man some money. We were then allowed to leave and we took another cab to the Village, arriving around 7:00 am. Later that day, a Rio police detective came to the USA House to take a statement. Since I was the only person available, I was told by a USOC official to provide a statement.

In this statement, I omitted the facts that we urinated behind the building and that Ryan Lochte pulled a poster off the wall. This statement was written by the officers in Portuguese, and I was then asked to sign the statement without seeing it translated into English. I realize that I made a mistake by omitting these facts. I was trying to protect my teammates and for this I apologize.

On the day I was scheduled to leave Rio, I was told that the police were investigating the matter and my passport was to be held until further information was provided. I was asked to stay in the country so I voluntarily provided my passport to the police and waited while the matter was investigated. I contacted lawyers in the United States and in Rio de Janeiro and awaited instruction.

I was informed by my Brazilian attorney that the police were requesting I make a follow-up statement. I provided the statement at the police station, which included the previous omissions. From there I was taken to the Brazilian court. I waited outside while my attorney, the prosecutor, and the judge met to decide what to do.

I was eventually given two options. Option one was to remain in Brazil while the police continued the investigation. This process was estimated to take at least a month and I would be required to remain in Brazil. Option two was pay a fine of R$100,000.00 ($31,250.00 USD) for the return of my passport and perform fifteen days of community service. I called my American attorneys to discuss what to do. We decided that this amount was unreasonable and due to safety concerns, this offer was also rejected. The prosecutor’s response was to increase the fine to R$150,000.00 ($46,875.00 USD).

Finally, all parties agreed to a R$35,000.00 ($10,800.00 USD) fine. This fine was to be paid within three days. If it was not paid, the fine would be increased back to R$150,000.00. I was able to contact my family in the United States along with my American attorneys and we were able to satisfy the payment of the fine the next day. My passport was returned to me after payment was received, and I was able to return home.

The support of my family, friends, and attorneys was paramount in my ability to return home. I am so sorry for the drama this has caused in everyone’s lives. I am very thankful to be home in the United States with my family and that this ordeal has come to an end.

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Lebvidox
7 years ago

I see he spends a lot of time talking about the fine he was supposed to pay. Seeing his posts on Reddit, he is pretty sure he was extorted somehow. He wasn’t. He made a false statement to the police during a criminal investigation and of course was prevented from leaving while the case against him was pending. The prosecutor made an offer (medium fine plus community service), they refused, the prosecutor made another offer (big fine, dropping the community service) and yet his lawyers were able to get the best deal out of it (small fine, free to Go and bury the case).

Olympics
7 years ago

I think Atilla is female though. She’s driving me crazy too. One week of her pro Rio comments. Ugh.

Attila the Hunt
Reply to  Olympics
7 years ago

Olympics, I love you too babe! I have so much love to share.

Attila the Hunt
7 years ago

Yada, I love you too!

Bartleby Duchamp
7 years ago

Why do you insist on singling out people you disagree with for personal insults? Perhaps your case would be stronger if you engaged the topics being discussed, rather than monitor people’s comments. Otherwise you seem like a troll who prefers to dis people personally with ad hominem attacks rather than engage conversation.

I agree with Atilla. This isn’t the forum to give links to bestgore.

Yada
Reply to  Bartleby Duchamp
7 years ago

Well Bartleby Duchamp (great name btw), I wouldn’t say I insist on singling people out for personal insults. But in the case of Attila, he does a great job of selectively using actual facts that strengthen the position he has already decided to take and ignoring anything contradictory, as well as condescending to anyone who dares disagree with his feelings. He’s been trashing Lochte on this forum for a week now, very unnecessarily in my opinion, yes he screwed up, but other than the gun cocked and to my head part of the story, most of his tale was reasonably based in fact. Ignored by Attila and others are the facts that the only damage done to the gas station… Read more »

MMD
7 years ago

I believe all 4 swimmers are adults and responsible for making adult decisions. Lochte is not their guardian. Besides that fact, the whole thing is just stupid and I’m sorry I keep participating by reading the dumba$$ comments we all feel compelled to make. There’s mine though, 😀

swimdoc
7 years ago

FACT

In Support of Jimmy
7 years ago

JImmy did a three day clinic for my son’s swim team. He was inspirational, attentive, motivated, and kind to the children. He actually did the work outs with them, ate lunch with them, and made himself available to parents. I know this clinic was a turning point for my son in his love of the sport and belief in himself. During the clinic it happened to be Jimmy’s mom’s birthday. He put her on FaceTime and had all the kids sing happy birthday to her. I state all of this because in some people’s harsh comments (not only on swim swam) they forget they are speaking of a fellow human who did no harm to anyone. He is somenone’s son… Read more »

masters swimmer
7 years ago

First and foremost, I am a big fan of Ryan Lochte and appreciate his many contributions to the sport. This whole situation is heartbreaking and sad. I wish the best for Ryan,

With that said, it just seems that people are missing some obvious points:

1. The entire problem blew up because Lochte chose to open his mouth when he should have kept is shut. To prove that point: If the swimmers didn’t say anything, the whole thing would have been forgotten. If they truly were robbed/extorted/whatever, a simple reporting directly to the police would have eliminated all the controversy. There would have been no international incident. The authorities and swimmers may have disagreed on the facts, but no big… Read more »

Scott Morgan
Reply to  masters swimmer
7 years ago

Indeed. Absolutely correct. It’s not about the bathroom incident; it’s about his outright lies, lack of personal accountability and complete disrespect he showed Team USA after the fact. And it’s not about his talent as a swimmer. It’s about his lack of character.

Attila the Hunt
Reply to  masters swimmer
7 years ago

If the incident had happened as Lochte imagined it, he didn’t have to report directly to the police
He could have done what officials and athletes from other countries have done after being robbed: report it to their national Olympics Federation, in Lochte’s case it would USOC.
From USOC’s statement, after Lochte’s mum went to the media about the “robbery”, USOC sent official to Lochte and the other three swimmers. They claimed there was no robbery, that’s why we heard USOC and IOC the robbery.

Scott Morgan
Reply to  Attila the Hunt
7 years ago

Indeed.

spectatorn
Reply to  Attila the Hunt
7 years ago

and why is that he didn’t need to report directly to the police but to USOC? what is the expected outcome of doing that? Just interest in understand the suggestion.

Attila the Hunt
Reply to  spectatorn
7 years ago

I was just giving alternative.
All you Lochte’s defense team claim that all Brazilian police are corrupt. So, if Lochte felt the same way, he didn’t have to go to the police on his own.
He could have done what ALL the other athletes/officials REAL victims: report to their team officials and let them take care of it.
You can imagine if od suggested that Lochte went directly to the police: you’d all have jumped on me.

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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