Brazilian police have charged Ryan Lochte with filing a false robbery report but Pine Bros., which touts its cough drops as “forgiving,” will feature him in its ads.
"Just as Pine Bros. is forgiving to your throat, the company asks the public for a little forgiveness for an American swimming legend," the company said.
The swimmer will appear in a series of print advertisements and a commercial stating "Pine Brothers Softish Throat Drops: Forgiving On Your Throat," the company said.
"We all make mistakes, but they're rarely given front-page scrutiny," Pine Bros. CEO Rider McDowell said. "He's a great guy who has done incredible work with charities. I'm confident that Pine Bros. fans will support our decision to give Ryan a second chance."
McDowell told the New York Post that “People in the corporate world have a reflex and they go overboard. This is so overboard for the transgression of a frat party event gone wrong.”
Estimated $1M Deal
He termed the sponsorship a “significant investment and compared it to the one Lochte had with Martha Stewart which reported was worth $1 million.
Lochte lost sponsorships worth $1 million with Speedo, Ralph Lauren, Syneron-Candela and Airweave in the wake of fallout over his exaggerated claims of having been robbed at gunpoint with teammates while in Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Brazilian police on Aug. 25 said Lochte will be informed of the indictment so he can decide whether to introduce a defense in Brazil. It is also being sent to the International Olympic Committee.
The charges were filed after Lochte left the country rather than being available for questioning. Video shows that Lochte on Aug. 14 pulled a poster off a bathroom wall that was hanging loosely.
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