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Speedo was the first, announcing early Monday it dropped its
sponsorship of embattled U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte. By the end of
the day, three other companies also said they would cut ties
with him.

The decisions to cut ties with Lochte come after a week-long
saga that led to Lochte and three other swimmers to be
questioned by Rio authorities after Lochte alleged they were
robbed at gunpoint. Ralph Lauren and a laser hair removal
company announced they would also sever their respective sponsor
relationships with the 32-year-old swimmer.

“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 the behavior that is counter to the values
this brand has long stood for,” Speedo USA said in a statement.

Ralph Lauren, which outfitted Team USA for the opening and
closing ceremonies, told CNBC on Monday that it would not renew
its current deal with Lochte. Lochte was one of the highlighted
athletes on Ralph Lauren's website modeling Team USA gear.

Syneron-Candela, the parent company of Gentle Hair Removal where
Lochte served as a spokesperson, confirmed to USA TODAY Sports
that it had cut Lochte loose. And, late Monday, airweave, a
mattress company, said it had "ended its partnership" with
Lochte.

"We hold our employees to high standards, and we expect the same
of our business partners," Syneron-Candela said in a statement.
"We wish Ryan well on his future endeavors and thank him for the
time he spent supporting our brand.”

Speedo said it will donate a portion of Lochte’s $50,000 fee to
the global charity Save The Children.

Lochte originally told USA TODAY Sports that he and fellow
American swimmers Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz and Jimmy Feigen
were pulled over while they were in a taxi by men with badges in
the early morning hours of Aug. 14. Lochte said the men robbed
them, an account that was eventually called into question by Rio
police and a judge who ordered the four to remain in the country
last Wednesday.

Lochte made it back to the U.S. on Wednesday, while Conger,
Bentz and Feigen remained in Brazil to face questions about what
exactly occurred at the gas station where the incident took
place. Police alleged the swimmers vandalized a bathroom and
security guards at the gas station demanded the swimmers pay for
the damage, which they did.

A USA TODAY Sports investigation called into question claims by
law enforcement that the four swimmers vandalized the gas
station, aside from ripping down a loosely attached sign.

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

“It’s how you want to make it look like, whether you call it a
robbery, whether you call it extortion or us paying just for the
damages, we don’t know,” Lochte told NBC's Matt Lauer. “All we
know is there was a gun pointed in our direction and we were
demanded to give money.”

Last week, Speedo said it was following the incident and would
not comment on an ongoing investigation.

Experts in the field of sponsorship and sports marketing
expected this sort of fallout from Lochte's sponsors as the 12-
time Olympic medalist walked back the parts of his armed robbery
tale that he'd originally embellished.

“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. “We live in a world where everything is
going to be exposed. Brands are always looking for honest and
authentic representatives because there’s so much competition.
There are so many Olympic athletes who you can choose from. You
don’t need any nonsense.

Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing expert and executive creative
director for Baker Street Advertising, also pointed out that
Lochte, 32, is on the back end of his swimming career. He won
just one medal at the Rio Games, as part of the 4x200-meter
freestyle relay.

“Lochte’s shelf life was already limited as an endorser,”
Dorfman said of this week's controversy. “He’s now just fallen
off the shelf.”

USA TODAY Sports' Nicole Auerbach contributed to this report.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio- 2016/2016/08/22/speedo-ends-sponsorship-ryan-lochte/89099284/
 

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