The 32-year-old had initially said he and three teammates had been pulled over in their taxi by gunmen posing as police who then robbed them. “I am ashamed for myself, my family and especially my teammates, the American swimming, the Olympics and everyone watching. I am proud of the performance we have achieved together”, he said.
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“I’m still going to be swimming”, he said. Lochte was one of the premiere athletes on Ralph Lauren’s website modeling Team USA gear.
YouTuber schmoyoho took Ryan Lochte’s infamous Matt Lauer interview and turned it into a song.
On Monday, Kim Angelastro, a spokeswoman for Syneron Candela, wrote in an email, “We hold our employees to high standards, and we expect the same of our business partners”. Lochte later offered a different account and Rio de Janeiro police subsequently said he and his three fellow swimmers lied about the incident and allegedly vandalized a restroom in a gas station. The company, which designs the outfits worn by USA athletes during the opening and closing ceremonies, said Monday that the endorsement was specifically for the 2016 Olympics, and would not be renewed.
Speedo USA and Japanese mattress maker Airweave said Monday that they were ending their partnership with the embattled US swimmer.
Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of OR, said he wasn’t surprised by the decision since most of Lochte’s marketing value was tied to campaigns prior to the Olympics. He had deals with Gillette, Mutual of Omaha, Nissan, AT&T and Gatorade ahead of the London Olympics in 2012 – bringing in a reported US$2.3 million annually – but those deals all expired.
Lochte told TMZ that he has yet to make a decision about whether to seek help for his drinking.
He later admitted being highly intoxicated during the incident. “I’m human, I made a mistake, and I definitely learned from this”.
“As soon as they drew their weapon, that’s when I got anxious”, Deluz said in the USA Today report. Bentz issued a statement saying Lochte tore a sign off a wall at the gas station and got into a heated exchange with the security officers, though Bentz denied the swimmers did any damage to a locked bathroom as authorities alleged.
But we still don’t know how he and/or teammates Jimmy Feigen, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger will be punished by one of the many governing bodies that deal with Olympic sports and worldwide swimming.
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While Lochte was back in the United States, Feigen paid $US11,000 to be donated to a charity in order to not face charges of making a false report. “I mean, that would be heartbreaking”, Lochte said.
