Speedo exit: Lochte loses first major sponsor since Olympics

SHARE Speedo exit: Lochte loses first major sponsor since Olympics
gettyimages_588323702.jpg

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 10: Ryan Lochte of the United States competes in the second Semifinal of the Men’s 200m Individual Medley on Day 5 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on August 10, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Ryan Lochte lost his first major sponsor when Speedo USA announced it is dropping the swimmer over a drunken incident during the Rio Olympics that he initially described as an armed robbery.

As part of the decision, Speedo said Monday it will donate $50,000 of Lochte’s fee to Save The Children to benefit needy youngsters in Brazil.

Speedo says that while it had “a winning relationship with Ryan for over a decade and he has been an important member of the Speedo team,” it could not condone his behavior after the end of Rio’s swimming competition.

At first, Lochte said he and three swimming teammates were robbed after their taxi was pulled over by armed men posing as police. He has since apologized for embellishing his version of events.

The Latest
Like no superhero movie before it, subversive coming-of-age story reinvents the villain’s origins with a mélange of visual styles and a barrage of gags.
A 66-year-old woman was dragged into the street in the 600 block of North Fairbanks Avenue by two armed robbers who fired shots, police said.
They have abandoned their mom and say relationship won’t resume until she stops ‘taking the money’ from her alcoholic ex.
Twenty-five years later, the gun industry’s greed and elected leaders’ cowardice continue to prevail, the head of the National Urban League writes.
The Sun-Times’ experts pick whom they think the team will take with the No. 9 pick in Thursday night’s draft: