The Sinister web of post- industrial capitalist economics

John B.

A disgraced Us Olympic Swimmer has lost the lucrative endorsements of the bourgeois conglomerates, Speedo, Ralph Lauren,  Airweave and Gentle Hair Removal. Ryan Lochte, the American athlete, who was born on August 3, 1984 in Rochester, New York attended the University of Florida on a swimming scholarship from 2003 to 2006. He was a member of the Florida Gators swim team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Southeastern Conference (SEC). He lived and trained in Gainesville.. He lied about urinating outside after a raucous night of debauchery in Rio, the site of the Summer Games. He has been dismissed as the lackey dog puppet of the tentacles of bourgeoisie domination. The nefarious web of the ruling class acted swiftly to protect its own financial interest.

Ironically, Lochte a product of the archaic social order, conceded to the actions of his bourgeois oppressor.

   The saga started when Lochte and three team-mates returned to the Olympic village after a late night out in Rio. They tried, unsuccessfully, to use the locked toilet at a garage and urinated outside instead.

At first claiming that that he and his three team-mates had been robbed by a bogus police officer, Lochte back-tracked and admitted he had, while still drunk, “left details out” and “over-exaggerated some parts of the story.

   Despite the evidence against him, including CCTV footage, he has denied that that he actually  lied in his initial account to the Brazilian police.

   Lochte’s behavior has been met with disdain in the US and he has been widely pilloried in the US media.

   On 19 August the New York Post carried a front-page headline describing him as the “Ugly American”, along with the slogan, “Liar, Liar, Speedo on fire.

   Lochte is one of the most successful swimmers in history, with 12 Olympic medals and he once had his own reality television show in the US.

   What options are opened to Lochte and what the future holds for him are a mystery. He has lost important endorsements which were a major source of income for him. To my mind his situation is analogous to a disbarred lawyer. He earns a significant income in a highly specialized undertaking. His source of income has been literally yanked from under his feet. What marketable skills does he possess?

Are Starbucks or Burger King to be his fate?