American 12-time Olympic medal winner Ryan Lochte has lost the endorsement of four sponsors following his lie about him and three other athletes being “robbery at gunpoint” on 14th August while in Rio, Brazil for the just concluded Olympics.
The fallout with his sponsors came shortly after the 32-year old swimmer admitted that he flat out lied about his story and apologized for his actions after being caught.
The professional athlete was called on his lies, presumably believe his complexion for the protect would save him, but he was put on the spot by Brazilian authorities.
Speedo USA was the first of the four companies to drop Lochte stating its displeasure in the athlete’s unacceptable behavior. In addition, Speedo said that it would use $50,000 of Lochte’s fee as a donation to its charity partner, Save the Children, to benefit Brazilian children.
Ralph Lauren, Airweave, and Gentle Hair Removal also issued statements announcing that they will either end or not renew sponsorship contracts with Ryan Lochte. The gold medalist and the other athletes involved in the scandal will also face the wrath of The US Olympic Committee. CEO Scott Blackmun said that the committee will punish then.
Ryan Lochte has expressed his regret and said that he will learn from his experience.
However, he will have to deal with the fact that he lost millions of dollars through the incident, in addition to tainting his image.
One Forbes analyst said that Lochte’s might lose $5million to $10 million of future income.
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