Speedo, the largest and longest endorsement deal for Lochte, severed ties with the disgraced swimmer on Monday in a tweet to the public.
Advertisement
“I respect Speedo’s decision and am grateful for the opportunities that our partnership has afforded me over the years”, he said. “Ralph Lauren’s endorsement agreement with Ryan Lochte was specifically in support of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and the company will not be renewing his contract”.
It added: “We appreciate his many achievements and hope he moves forward and learns from this experience”.
Nottingham, UK-based Speedo’s USA unit said on Monday it would donate $50,000 of Lochte’s fee to Save The Children, a global charity partner of Speedo.
Originally, Lochte claimed that he and fellow Team U.S.A. swimmers James Feigen, Jack Conger, and Gunnar Bentz had been robbed at gunpoint two weeks ago after a night of partying.
The value of Lochte’s Speedo sponsorship has not been disclosed.
Syneron-Candela said: “We hold our employees to high standards, and we expect the same of our business partners”.
“We are transitioning out all Olympic visual as the games ended yesterday, and we are moving into our fall fashion message”, Macy’s spokeswoman Holly Thomas said in an e-mail. Officials later revealed that the early Saturday-morning incident was quite different: Lochte and some of his teammates vandalized a gas station, urinated on the premises, then paid for the damages when confronted by armed guards.
While there have been conflicting versions over whether the guards pulled their weapons on the swimmers, Lochte has since acknowledged he was highly intoxicated and that his behavior led to the confrontation, which resulted in the swimmers paying some $50 in USA and Brazilian currency before they were allowed to leave.
“They (the people of Rio) put on a great Games”.
The U.S. Olympic Committee is further investigating the matter.
The disgraced swimmer sat for an interview with Matt Lauer to address the controversy saying he “over-exaggerated” the story.
“I wasn’t lying to a certain extent”, he said, in an interview with Brazilian broadcaster, Globo TV.
This one must hurt the most considering how long Speedo has been hugging Ryan’s nuts. Lochte also starred in a short-lived reality television show after the 2012 Olympics.
Advertisement
The incident endangered Lochte’s chance of participating in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and he may also possibly face legal charges in Brazil.
