Speedo USA, Ralph Lauren drop Lochte after Rio incident

Lochte said in a statement he respected Speedo’s decision.

The announcement comes shortly after Lochte admitted on NBC, Lochte admitted that he over-exaggerated claims he and three other USA swimmers were robbed at gunpoint.

All four are subject to an International Olympic Commission investigation into their conduct and Lochte has now been hit financially as well.

Within hours of the Games coming to a close, Speedo USA issued a statement saying it would drop Lochte as one of its endorsers, while Ralph Lauren said it would not be renewing its contract with the swimmer.

The company said that it would donate $50,000 of Lochte’s fee to a charity to help Brazilian children. The swimsuit maker owned by PVH in NY says that it doesn’t condone behavior that is counter to its values.

He also won 200m medley silver in Athens in 2004, 200m and 400m medley bronze medals in Beijing and two silvers and a bronze in London.

Syneron-Candela – the parent company of Gentle Hair Removal – said it holds its clients to the same high standards it holds its employees, and they had to let him go.

The Americans’ story of an alleged robbery that police found did not take place overshadowed the final week of the Rio de Janeiro Games.

The swimmer originally said that he and three Team USA teammates were pulled over in a cab and robbed at gunpoint by men posing as Brazilian police.

“Ralph Lauren continues to proudly sponsor the US Olympic and Paralympic Team and the values that its athletes embody”.

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.

Lochte, in an interview with NBC over the weekend, admitted he “over-exaggerated” some details.

Both the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Swimming have indicated that Lochte will be punished, perhaps endangering the 32-year-old’s hopes of competing in a fifth Olympics at Tokyo in 2020.

Following the incident, Lochte flew back to the United States, while the other three – Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen – stayed in Brazil.

Lochte said in the interview with NBC he had been drinking too much and was still under the influence of alcohol when he initially made the comments. The statement from airweave said it had a similar arrangement with the swimmer.

“In this day and age, there’s one pretty important rule that anybody in the public eye should think about: Don’t lie”, said Joe Favorito, a sports marketing expert and professor at Columbia, on Friday. He also starred in a short-lived reality television show after the 2012 Olympics.