Ryan Lochte of the United States attends a press conference at the Rio Olympics on August 12.
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But the official U.S. Olympic Team outfitter made a pretty big statement by removing Lochte’s image from its online gallery of sponsored athletes.
“Ralph Lauren continues to proudly sponsor the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team and the values that its athletes embody”, said the company, which provided the attire worn by the American team at the opening and closing ceremonies.
Syneron-Candela, the parent company of Gentle Hair Remover, per ESPN’s Darren Rovell, parted ways with the swimmer. Lochte later said in an interview with NBC how the swimmers were robbed at gunpoint, an account which he later called an “exaggeration”.
“We appreciate his many achievements and hope he moves forward and learns from this experience”, Speedo USA said of Lochte, who has won a total of 12 medals in Olympic competition during his career, six of them gold.
Lochte initially said he and three swimming teammates were robbed after their taxi was pulled over by armed men posing as police.
Lochte has since admitted he was heavily intoxicated during the altercation, and only has himself to blame for the “mess” he’s in, because he “left details out” of his initial headline-grabbing interview with US show Today last week.
On Thursday, police released closed-circuit TV footage and other evidence about the events at the gas station.
As part of the decision, Speedo said Monday it will donate $50,000 of Lochte’s fee to Save The Children to benefit needy youngsters in Brazil.
When asked by NBC’s Matt Lauer if his original version of the story could cost him his endorsements, Lochte answered it could.
“I respect Speedo’s decision and am grateful for the opportunities that our partnership has afforded me over the years”, Lochte said.
Bob Williams, chief executive of Burns Entertainment & Sports Marketing, a firm that represents advertisers who hire celebrities for endorsement deals, said last week that the incident could do serious harm to Mr. Lochte’s endorsement potential.
Lochte told TMZ that he has yet to make a decision about whether to seek help for his drinking.
“Right now I need to just see my family and talk with them about what I’m going to do”.
As Lochte skipped town and headed back to the States, authorities removed Bentz and Conger from their flight and briefly detained them in Rio De Janeiro. Authorities in Brazil denied any robbery took place. They ordered Feigen to remain in the country.
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“If the USOC says I can’t swim anymore, I think that would be the most hurtful, just because I put so much time and effort into this sport”. “My true friends still support me, being behind me 100 percent, so that’s what keeps me going”.
