Swimmer Ryan Lochte won’t be speeding through the water in Speedo gear any more, at least not as a brand ambassador, after the company announced it’s ending its sponsorship with the Olympic athlete amid a controversy that went down while Team USA was in Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics.
Lochte admitted recently that he “over-exaggerated” a story about being held up at gunpoint after leaving a party in Rio with three other swimmers. Instead, police alleged that the athletes vandalized a bathroom at a gas station and were confronted by armed security guards.
“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,” the company said in a statement, via ABC News.
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Speedo added that despite its history with Lochte, it “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.”
U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun said on Sunday that there will be further action coming for the athletes.
“They let down the other athletes; they let down Americans; and they let down our hosts in Rio,” Blackmun said of Lochte and the other three swimmers. “We are going to have further action on this when we get back to the United States.”
Speedo USA Drops Sponsorship of Ryan Lochte Amid Scandal [ABC News]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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