Speedo announced Monday that it will no longer sponsor Ryan Lochte. Soon after, Ralph Lauren followed suit, saying it wouldn’t renew its sponsorship of the Olympic swimmer. By Monday afternoon, Lochte lost all of his sponsors.
Lochte admitted on Saturday that he “overexaggerated” a story about being robbed at gunpoint at a gas station in Rio during the Olympics. There were conflicting reports about the incident with some accusing Lochte and three of his teammates of vandalism.
Lochte released a statement last week apologizing for what he had done.
But Speedo USA said Monday it “cannot condone behavior that is counter to the values this brand has long stood for.” Speedo USA will be donating $50,000 of Lochte’s sponsorship to the charity Save The Children to benefit children in Brazil.
Less than two hours later, Ralph Lauren released the following statement saying it would not renew Lochte’s contract.
“Ralph Lauren continues to proudly sponsor the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team and the values that its athletes embody. 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.”
On Monday afternoon, mattress company Airweave tweeted that they were ending their sponsorship of Lochte. He also lost his sponsorship deal with Gentle Hair Removal parent company Syneron-Candela, ESPN’s Darren Rovell tweeted.
As reported by Business Insider