Bouncing back already? Lochte linked with ‘Dancing With the Stars’
It’s not exactly the contrition tour (yet), but according to Us Weekly, disgraced American swimmer Ryan Lochte is circling around the phenomenon that is Dancing With the Stars (DWTS). A source said that “Doing DWTS will be great for Ryan’s image. He will be able to show America that he’s a good guy who made a mistake. He’s still an Olympic champion! He will be great on the show.”
Exclamation points notwithstanding, Lochte is most certainly in a pickle after losing all of his sponsors. Japanese mattress company Airweave dropped Lochte on Monday, though they initially stood by him. The other three major sponsors Lochte lost include Speedo, Ralph Lauren and hair removal company Syneron Candela.
Another popular entertainment publication E! News cited a source saying that "Ryan is not planning on doing anything big at this moment. He is trying to let the dust settle for now. He is taking a break from swimming for a little bit, but will get back at training when he feels up to it. He is not giving up, he just is very overwhelmed what has happened.”
Reality TV might not be a bad avenue for Lochte, having had experience with his 2013 show What Would Ryan Do? However, according to Vanity Fair, the show ended with a thud, garnering only 3,000 viewers for the finale of the not-long-for-this-world series.
Eric Schiffer, chairman of Reputation Management Consultants thinks that keeping it on the down-low is likely the smart course of action. “I think the best thing he can do is stay dark and stay in the pool,” Schiffer told Vanity Fair. “And keep his head down and keep working, working on winning again. But being in TV in those capacities — I think it’s a mistake, because it reaffirms that cavalier, frat-boy-irresponsible image, which is the opposite of what he needs.”