Speedo And Two Other Sponsors Drop Ryan Lochte After Rio Scandal

Ryan Lochte lost three major sponsors after swimsuit giant Speedo USA, retail company Ralph Lauren and skin-care firm Syneron-Candela announced in rapid succession early Monday that they were dropping the swimmer in the wake of his involvement in drunken incident at the Rio Olympics that he initially and falsely described as an armed robbery.

Speedo And Two Other Sponsors Drop Ryan Lochte After Rio Scandal

Speedo USA, the first of the three companies to announce they were severing ties with the 32-year-old American swim star, also said it would 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 cannot condone behavior that is counter to the values this brand has long stood for,” the prominent swimsuit company said in a brief statement. “We appreciate his many achievements and hope he moves forward and learns from this experience.”

Ralph Lauren and Syneron-Candela, released their own similar statements shortly afterwards.

“Ralph Lauren continues to proudly sponsor the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team and the values that its athletes embody,” said Ralph Lauren, which provided the Polo-branded attire worn by the American team at the opening and closing ceremonies. “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.”

Syneron-Candela offers a line of skin-treatment products that are used for body contouring, wrinkle reduction, acne and vein care, and tattoo removal.

“We hold our employees to high standards, and we expect the same of our business partners,” the company said. “We wish Ryan well on his future endeavors and thank him for the time he spent supporting our brand.”

Lochte also issued a brief statement through his public relations firm relaying his lengthy relationship with Speedo.

“I respect Speedo’s decision and am grateful for the opportunities that our partnership has afforded me over the years,” he said. “I am proud of the accomplishments that we have achieved together.”

The swimmer originally claimed he and three of his other teammates had been robbed after their taxi was pulled over by armed men who presented themselves as policeman in the early morning hours of Sunday, Aug. 14, the day after the swimming competition ended in Rio de Janeiro.

Lochte has since apologized for lying about the actual events that took place that night, events which involved him and his teammates drunkenly showing up at a gas station in Rio thanks to the taxi that drove them from their party at the French house earlier that night. There, the four swimmers urinated on several parts of the premises, while Lochte himself caused damage to a bathroom door, took down a sign and even got into a fight with a security guard– all according to video surveillance footage and witness testimonies from the gas station owner and others, including Lochte’s teammates.

The U.S. Olympic Committe and USA Swimming have stated that Lochte will be punished, perhaps by being forbidden to compete in a fifth Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020. He could also potentially face criminal charges in Brazil, where the other swimmers– Jimmy Feigen, Jack Conger and Gunner Bentz– were initially barred from leaving the country until they were interviewed by authorities. Conger and Bentz were actually detained on their flight home.

Feigen wound up donating just under $11,000 to a Brazilian nonprofit sports organization to settle any potential legal action.

Lochte, in an initial interview with NBC, said that “these guys came out with a badge, a police badge, no lights, no nothing, just a police badge, and they pulled us over. They pulled out their guns, they told the other swimmers to get down on the ground — they got down on the ground. I refused. I was like, ‘We didn’t do anything wrong, so I’m not getting down on the ground.’” He went on to say he was robbed of money and his wallet.

That version quickly unraveled when police said the swimmers never reported the incident to authorities and that there was scant evidence of a robbery.

In his most recent interview with NBC, which was taped in New York and began airing last weekend, Lochte said he was “very intoxicated” during the incident and takes “full responsibility” for his actions. He also apologized in an interview with Brazil’s main broadcaster, Globo.

“I over-exaggerated the story,” he told NBC. “If I had never done that, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

Lochte finished fifth in the 200-meter individual medley, far behind longtime rival Michael Phelps, but he did help Phelps and the Americans win gold in the 4×200 freestyle relay.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 12: Ryan Lochte of the United States attends a press conference in the Main Press Center on Day 7 of the Rio Olympics on August 12, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Matt Hazlett/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena