No more free Speedos as Lochte sponsors bail out
Angry golfer tees off at perceived ‘haters’
US swimmer Ryan Lochte lost the last of his four major sponsors, Japanese mattress maker Airweave, days after he admitted to exaggerating his story about being robbed at gunpoint in Rio during the Olympic Games.
The incident embarrassed the host city, angered the local police and government and dominated news coverage of the Olympics, leading the US Olympic Committee to issue an apology.
Lochte, a 12-time Olympic medallist, apologised in an interview to Brazil’s largest broadcaster, Globo TV. ‘‘I wasn’t lying to a certain extent,’’ he said. ‘‘I overexaggerated what was happening to me.’’
Within hours of the Games coming to a close, Speedo USA issued a statement saying it would drop Lochte as one of its endorsers, while Ralph Lauren Corp said it would not be renewing its contract with the swimmer.
Hair removal company Syneron Candela also ended its partnership with Lochte, four months after naming him its global brand ambassador for one of its products.
Sponsorship and endorsement deals typically include ‘‘morals clauses’’ that allow sponsors to terminate deals early if they feel the athlete has behaved poorly in public. Australian golfer Robert Allenby has launched a tirade against his ‘‘haters’’, after taking exception to references to under-fire US Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte.
After a one-year Twitter hiatus, Allenby’s account unleashed several attacks at a fellow golfer and critics, one who asked if he had any tips for Lochte.
He seemed unhappy with the apparent comparison between Lochte’s ‘‘over-exaggerated’’ story of being robbed at gunpoint in Rio and his report of being drugged, bashed and kidnapped in Hawaii in 2015, a story he stands by.
‘‘so nice that all you w .... rs put me in the class as Lochte He is an amazing swimmer and GOLD medalist (sic),’’ the Allenby account tweeted.
The 45-year-old also got into a slanging match with Australian golfer Aron Price.
‘‘Good idea for a PPV (pay-perview). Brian Williams interviewing Allenby and Lochte’’, Price tweeted, in a post that has since been deleted.
Allenby was not impressed.
Nottingham, the British-based Speedo’s US unit, said yesterday it would donate US$50,000 (NZ$68,000) of Lochte’s fee to Save The Children, a global charity partner of Speedo.
Lochte said in an email that he respected Speedo’s decision.
‘‘I was immature and I made a stupid mistake. I’m human. I made a mistake and I definitely learned from this,’’ Lochte said in an interview on the Today show. ’’They [the people of Rio] put on a great Games. And my immature, intoxicated behaviour tarnished that a little,’’ Lochte said.
Ralph Lauren and Airweave said their endorsement
‘‘You should show some respect, you crossed the line,’’ tweeted Allenby, who has won 22 titles. ’’Do you still play golf mate?’’
The embattled golfer then went on to ask Price: ‘what have you won?’
Price, who had earlier recommended Allenby get some help, replied: ‘‘I won the Kareela junior club champs. Get that up ya’’.
Enduring a horror season on the course, Allenby was arrested for disorderly conduct and trespass outside an Illinois casino earlier this month. However, US prosecutors have dropped their case against him after the casino he was arrested in and a security guard both declined to press charges.
‘‘We have decided not to proceed with charges against him,’’ Rock Island County state attorney John Mcgehee told AAP yesterday..
Allenby missed the cut at the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina at the weekend, ending his US PGA Tour season with 21 missed cuts from 23 starts.
Allenby finished one post with the hashtag #lovemyhaters.
agreements with Lochte was for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Ralph Lauren had taken down references to the gold medallist from its website last week.
Lochte, 32, won one gold medal at the Rio Olympics. He was the breakout star of the 2012 London 2012 Olympics, landing a shortlived reality TV series called What Would Ryan Lochte Do? and appearing, as himself, on top shows such as 30 Rock and 90210.
His sponsors’ decisions are likely to be only the first sanction Lochte faces over a night of partying that ended up tarnishing the reputation of the American team.