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Ryan Lochte's antics outside of the pool may damage the Olympic swimmer's ability to land new sponsors.

Brazilian police are saying that Mr. Lochte fabricated a story about himself and three teammates being robbed at gunpoint over the weekend by assailants who were posing as police officers.

Footage from a Rio gas station recorded the morning that the U.S. swimmers were allegedly robbed at gunpoint appeared to undermine their story. On Thursday, the head of Rio's state investigative police said Mr. Lochte, along with fellow gold medalists James Feigen, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, damaged property at a gas station Sunday morning and were kept there by armed security guards until they paid for the damage. He rejected Mr. Lochte's account and said the incident remains under investigation.

The controversy has made international headlines and raises questions about the ramifications the incident will have on Mr. Lochte's ability to cash in on his storied career that now includes 12 Olympic medals.

If it's true that Mr. Lochte lied, "it will virtually eliminate him from future endorsements," said Bob Williams, chief executive of Burns Entertainment & Sports Marketing, a firm that represents advertisers who hire celebrities for endorsement deals. "Advertisers have become far less tolerant of controversial behavior of any type, and this is yet another type of controversial behavior that doesn't reflect well on a brand."

Mr. Lochte has had plenty of success over the years with corporate America including an endorsement pact with Procter & Gamble's Gillette brand during the London Olympics. He also had a sponsorship deals with companies such as Mutual of Omaha, Nissan, AT&T and PepsiCo's Gatorade but those deals had expired several years ago, the companies said.

In a statement, Ralph Lauren, one of Mr. Lochte's current sponsors, said: "We are working closely with the USOC on the developments in Rio and are reviewing the situation."

Speedo, another sponsor, suggested contacting Mr. Lochte's team for more information. "Speedo is following the situation, and has a policy not to comment on ongoing legal investigations," the company said in a statement.

Mattress manufacturer Airweave confirmed it has an endorsement deal with Mr. Lochte, but declined to comment on the Rio incident.

Some marketing experts suggest that even before the incident, Mr. Lochte didn't have a lot of endorsement buzz.

"Mr. Lochte had high performance expectations heading into London and that's when his potential for endorsements was at its highest," said Matt Fleming, director of celebrity acquisition at Marketing Arm, a unit of Omnicom Group that ranks perceptions of athletes based on online polls.

"The same hype did not exist leading up to Rio and he was not as coveted by brands," he added.

In Rio, Mr. Lochte was part of the U.S. team that won the gold medal for the 4x200 freestyle relay.

Steven Perlberg contributed to this article.

Write to Suzanne Vranica at suzanne.vranica@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 18, 2016 23:15 ET (03:15 GMT)

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