A photo posted by Ryanlochte (@ryanlochte) on
Speedo USA will no longer be sponsoring Ryan Lochte since the swimmer has gotten embroiled in an international scandal after video footage and his teammates’ testimony disproved the gold medalist’s story about being robbed in Rio.
“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 published by ABC News.
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The 32-year-old swimmer ended up in hot water after fabricating a story about an armed robbery. Surveillance video and witness testimony showed the swimmer and his teammates had not been held up at gunpoint, but had actually been subdued after vandalizing a Rio gas station.
“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 behavior that is counter to the values this brand has long stood for,” Speedo USA explained. “We appreciate his many achievements and hope he moves forward and learns from this experience.”
The gold medalist will appear before an international disciplinary committee to see what other consequences he may face in the wake of the incident.
This article first appeared on Womanista.com
