Speedo cuts ties with disgraced US Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte
Speedo has ended its sponsorship of disgraced US Olympic swimmer, Ryan Lochte, following his falsified claims about being robbed at gunpoint.
Ryan Lochte
The company announced that it was ending its sponsorship of the 32 year-old Rio Olympic gold medallist effective immediately.
In a statement it said: "We cannot condone behaviour that is counter to the values this brand has long stood for."
The official response regarding our sponsorship of Ryan Lochte. pic.twitter.com/0DdP2RyceD
— Speedo USA (@SpeedoUSA) August 22, 2016
Lochte claimed that he and three other Team USA swimmers - Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and James Feigen- were robbed at gunpoint in Rio, however the story was later discovered to have been fabricated in an attempt to cover up a drunken incident involving them vandalizing a gas station toilet.
Speedo said it would donate a $50,000 portion of Lochte's sponsorship fee to the charity Save The Children's Brazilian operation.
Ralph Lauren, another of his sponsors, said last week that it was “working closely with the USOC" to review the situation. Japanese mattress manufacturer Airweave said Lochte would “remain the US ambassador for Airweave as long as our partnership agreement remains effective”.