The swimsuit manufacturer’s decision to cut ties with Lochte comes after a week-long saga that led to Lochte and three other swimmers to be questioned by Rio authorities after Lochte alleged they were robbed at gunpoint.
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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.
“While we have enjoyed a winning relationship with Ryan for over a decade and he has been an important member of the Speedo team, we can not condone behavior that is counter to the values this brand has long stood for”, the prominent swimsuit company said. “We appreciate his many achievements and hope he moves forward and learns from this experience”. Airweave simply tweeted its announcement revoking Lochte’s sponsorship.
He also won 200m medley silver in Athens in 2004, 200m and 400m medley bronze medals in Beijing and two silvers and a bronze in London.
The third company to drop the 12-time Olympic medal victor was Syneron-Candela, for which Lochte endorsed the Gentle Hair Removal brand. It was a story that took many twists and turns over the course of a week, and ended with both the Brazilian police and Lochte admitting it wasn’t entirely true.
After releasing a statement on Instagram, Lochte also apologized on NBC Saturday night, admitting he was “still intoxicated” the morning after the incident – when he told NBC’s Matt Lauer that he and three US swimming teammates were robbed at gunpoint.
“Ralph Lauren continues to proudly sponsor the US Olympic and Paralympic Team and the values that its athletes embody”.
Lochte made it back to the USA on Wednesday, while Conger, Bentz and Feigen remained in Brazil to face questions about what exactly occurred at the gas station where the incident took place. Brazilian officials said the swimmers were actually held at gunpoint by a security guard after vandalizing a Rio gas station.
“As long as he is a respectable athlete, he will remain a USA ambassador for Airweave as long as our partnership agreement remains effective”, Motokuni Takaoka, CEO of Airweave, had said in an email.
“The current situation in Brazil regarding Ryan Lochte is an ongoing investigation”. He did not answer questions about the apparent removal of Lochte’s athlete bio from the Team USA apparel page, where other American athletes were still profiled Monday. Lochte appeared in a promotional video for Gentle Hair Removal, in which he said the service “was the best thing that’s ever happened”.
“I over-exaggerated the story”, he told NBC.
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“I wasn’t lying to a certain extent”, he said. He also starred in a short-lived reality television show after the 2012 Olympics.
