As Sports Illustrated rolls out its annual ‘Where Are They Now?’ issue on former baseball player Alex Rodriguez, one name that has kept swimming in headlines (for reasons palatable and not) appears some 70 paragraphs down in the spread: Ryan Lochte.
For all Lochte has done in the pool– which has amounted to one of the most impressive careers in the sport, as he has collected six Olympic gold medals and over 50 gold medals in major international championships– he has been involved with haphazard mistakes and incidents that have been more tabloid-worthy than anything else. It was hardly surprising when he launched the TV series What Would Ryan Lochte Do in 2013, which the Washington Post called ‘gloriously stupid‘ after E! re-ran the show in 2016 following the forsaken Rio gas station incident.
So, Alex Rodriguez, a public figure who has been hated (here are nine reasons why, according to Fox Sports) but has since smoothed over his image (see this piece in Vice, or the aforementioned feature in SI), is now mentoring Lochte.
Indeed, Rodriguez has a show called ‘Back in the Game’ on CNBC, where he mentors athletes who have hit hard times. When filming for the episode earlier this year, Rodriguez denounces Lochte’s apology for the Rio incident, and gives him wise advice to never again refer to himself in the third person.
“Being with him, learning, having him help me out—it’s amazing what he’s been able to do,” Lochte said.
Rodriguez didn’t just offer him life coaching a la Karamo from Queer Eye, though. He also had Lochte create content for one of the fitness companies A-Rod Corp has invested in, starting him at $15,000 a month. The cash infusion from A-Rod comes on the heels of the sponsorship fallout post-Rio that saw major brands like Speedo and Ralph Lauren pull out of agreements with the swimmer.
Lochte was recently on a season of CBS’s Celebrity Big Brother, through which he trained in the pool. The four-time Olympian is also nearing the end of a 14-month ban following his usage of an intravenous infusion without a therapy-use-exemption (TUE). The ban started on May 24th, 2018, with its conclusion coming at the end of July.
I just watched the Ryan Lochte episode of Back in the Game. While I’m sure Alex’s advice and job helped the Lochtes, I don’t think Ryan and his wife helped themselves by the way they came off. They both seem spoiled and unappreciative. His wife couldn’t see herself driving a Mazda and Ryan couldn’t see her doing that either. At the time they were spending much more than they brought in and had huge auto payments. Ryan drove a Porsche and his wife drove a Range Rover. Not sure why someone would have to tell them they needed less auto expense.
The apartment they lived in was really nice and was a huge difference in their home they couldn’t… Read more »
Can someone please confirm when (and I which meet) Lochte will be able to compete? Will he be eligible by US Nationals?
he can compete at nationals i think …..
I give zero schatts about what any MLB player does.
This is no exception.
A-Rod is spending his Athleticism gained networth to promote an athlete that literally got little to nothing for a whole lotta work! Go A-Rod!
This is no brainer , he will make the 2020 team 200 im
800 free relay, come out with 3 golds ( including 400 free relay prelim swim ) I’m sad he waisted years with
Marsh , would be different story right now !
Wasted time with Marsh? Marsh is a genius, decades ahead of other coaches, he has the pixie-dust and mojo no other coach in any sport can muster. Why do you trash this great man?? Probably jealously.
That’s about what Congress members make. #Lochte2020
And they are just as smart, but he is a better swimmer than they are lawyers.
Again – best male swimmer not named Michael phelps – EVER
Hope he gets back to form, love dude. RL is the kelso of swimming. Kinda cool, kinda bimbo, but charming. Also ither than RL who else has a personality that can fill an arena??
It will be interesting to see how he does once he is back competing. I think Lochte still may emerge as the best US 200 IM and 200 free swimmer. With the Worlds team selection having occurred over a year in advance, there could well be quite a few swims at US Nationals that better the winning times at worlds – Lochte, Reagan Smith, Cordes, Seiiskar in events other than 200 free – i.e. IM (as well as a host of other US Worlds team members who are limited in events, Dean Ferris, Urlando, Fink, etc.