Lochte Dropped by Speedo and Ralph Lauren in Wake of Rio Scandal
The fallout from the Ryan Lochte robbery/bathroom vandalism scandal continues to grow as two of the swimmer’s biggest sponsors have dropped him.
Only days after it was revealed that Lochte and his teammates at the very least originally exaggerated what happened to them, both Speedo and Ralph Lauren dropped the embattled swimmer.
In a statement posted on their Twitter account, Speedo said:
“Speedo USA today announces the decision to end its sponsorship of Ryan Lochte. As part of this decision, Speedo USA will donate a $50,000 portion of Lochte’s fee to Save the Children, a global charity partner of Speedo USA’s parent company, for children 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. We appreciate his many achievements and hope he moves forward and learns from this experience.”
In response to Speedo’s decision, Lochte told People that he respects “Speedo’s decision and (is) grateful for the opportunities that our partnership has afforded me over the years.”
Ralph Lauren distanced themselves even further from Lochte. First they dropped the swimmer from the “Meet Our Athletes” section on their website. Next the company released a statement saying part that the company, “continues to proudly sponsor the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic team and the values that its athletes embody.”
The company went on to clarify their relationship with the athlete, saying, “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.”
