This Ryan Lochte saga continues with more white lies. That’s the question we’re answering. According to official reports and statements, Ryan Lochte’s sponsors list is shrinking dramatically. How much is Ryan Lochte worth now? We want to hear from you.
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On Monday, 12-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte was dropped by his four remaining corporate sponsors after he falsely claimed he and three other USA swimmers had been held up by armed robbers at a Rio de Janeiro gas station during the 2016 Olympic Games. He originally stated that during his time in Brazil, he and his three U.S. teammates, Jinny Feigen, Gunner Bentz and Jack Conger were pulled over in a cab near a gas station with guns pointed at them, and were robbed by men disguised as local police officers.
Further investigation concluded the majority of the story was false. But local authorities soon countered that the athletes had actually been stopped by armed security guards and accused of vandalizing a gas station restroom. The story garnered even more media attention after Brentz and Conger were taken off a US-bound plane at Rio de Janeiro airport on Wednesday and questioned by police. Whatever the true details were, it’s clear Lochte was telling tall tales.
He tells the full story of the incident at the gas station, saying he was waiting in the cab for the others when a man pulled a gun on them: “As I walked away, the man with the gun pointed it at me and my teammate and ordered us, in Portuguese, to sit”.
Lochte, aged 32, said he respected Speedo’s decision, and thanked the company.
The US business magazine Forbes calculated that in the year of the 2012 London Olympics, Lochte earned about $2 million in sponsorships from companies such as Gillette, Nissan, AT&T and Gatorade.
Ralph Lauren signed Lochte to a deal specifically for the 2016 Olympics.
He is not the first American swimmer to lose sponsors after unruly behaviour. The effect is expected as most corporations require their celebrities and athletes to meet basic moral standards of class, honesty, integrity, teamwork and excellence.
Speedo and Ralph Lauren were followed by announcements from skin care firm Syneron-Candela and Japanese mattress maker Airweave that they were terminating their contracts with him. Speedo also announced its intentions to donate $50,000 of the swimmer’s pay to a Brazilian charity that works with impoverished children.
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Lochte made headlines following a night of celebrating Team USA’s medal haul when he claimed that he had been robbed at gunpoint.
