An Olympian couldn’t pay her rent. Flavor Flav and Alexis Ohanian stepped in to help

Scottie Andrew

PARIS (CNN) — Olympic glory is thrilling, but it doesn’t ever salary nan bills.

Veronica Fraley, a discus thrower connected Team USA, shared arsenic overmuch earlier this week, erstwhile she told her followers connected X that she was struggling to make ends meet.

“I compete successful nan Olympic Games TOMORROW and can’t moreover salary my rent,” she wrote connected X, punctuating pinch an emoji wearing an incredulous expression.

Enter Flavor Flav, nan “hype man” of nan US h2o polo teams, and Reddit laminitis Alexis Ohanian. The men, who’ve been cheering connected Team USA astatine nan Paris Olympics each week, banded together to not only salary Fraley’s rent for nan period but screen her rent for nan remainder of 2024.

“I’m conscionable happy to thief those who are representing nan champion of each of us,” Flav said successful a connection to CNN. “This is precisely why I person been successful Paris. I americium trying to bring consciousness of immoderate of nan hardships Olympians experience. They are retired present moving 2 to 3 jobs conscionable to get by.”

Fraley, a first-time Olympian and a postgraduate student astatine Vanderbilt University, shared her financial troubles connected X connected Thursday, nan time earlier her qualifying event.

“My schoolhouse only sent astir 75% of my rent while they salary shot players … capable to bargain caller cars and houses,” she wrote connected X, noting that nan Vanderbilt Commodores shot squad “haven’t won anything.” (Last season, nan squad won 2 games and mislaid 10. Vanderbilt doesn’t make its athletes’ net done NIL — aliases name, image and likeness — deals public, but a CBS Sports study from May revealed that apical assemblage shot players could make hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.)

Flav recovered Fraley’s station and pledged his support.

“I gotchu,” he wrote. “DM maine and I’ll nonstop costs TODAY truthful you don’t person to interest bout it TOMORROW.”

A typical for Flav confirmed to CNN that nan Public Enemy co-founder paid Fraley’s rent successful afloat and that Ohanian paid her rent for nan remainder of 2024.

CNN has reached retired to Ohanian’s representatives for comment. Meanwhile, Ohanian shared a screenshot connected X of a transaction successful which he sent Fraley $7,760.

Fraley thanked Flav and Ohanian successful a post, penning “​this makes each quality successful nan WORLD & I dream to correspond squad USA good this week.”

And for funny followers, Fraley confirmed connected Friday that she “paid (her) rent this morning” pinch a bevy of grateful emojis.

Fraley will compete successful nan discus propulsion qualifier Friday afternoon. In a station sharing her GoFundMe page, she said she plans to tackle a world title successful 2025 and, eventually, nan 2028 Summer Games.

A typical for Vanderbilt University referred CNN to a connection successful which nan schoolhouse said it “is committed to supporting our student-athletes arsenic they prosecute their afloat potential.”

“We provided our student-athlete Veronica Fraley pinch nan maximum financial assistance accordant pinch NCAA regulations,” nan connection read. “We besides thief our student-athletes navigate name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities, acknowledging that these are wholly abstracted and independent of nan assemblage by NCAA regulations and authorities law.”

Flavor Flav and Alexis Ohanian are showing up for women’s sports
Flav has been 1 of nan astir accordant and vocal supporters of women athletes astatine nan Paris Olympics. He sprung into action earlier this twelvemonth erstwhile he learned that respective players connected nan US women’s h2o polo squad were moving aggregate jobs to support themselves. Now, he sponsors some nan US men’s and women’s h2o polo teams.

“Hopefully this will unfastened up nan doorway for different celebrities to do what I’m doing and travel and sponsor immoderate of these Olympic teams,” he told “Today” successful an question and reply from nan Games. “When group aren’t really retired present competing, they’re home, moving … There’s thing incorrect pinch coming successful and giving that small other push.”

Ohanian, too, has backed women’s sports arsenic a instrumentality and financier. (He’s joined to all-time tennis awesome Serena Williams, aft all, and credits her arsenic “the prototype for really you tin show women’s sports is … connected nan aforesaid level arsenic men’s.”) The task capitalist has invested successful Angel City FC, Los Angeles’ master women’s shot team, and is hosting an arena for women runners later this twelvemonth pinch a $60,000 prize.

Athletes aren’t paid to compete astatine nan Olympics, though immoderate countries connection rate prizes for medaling. So Ohanian projected a challenge: If nan runners who were competing astatine some his arena and nan Olympics won a golden badge successful Paris, he’d salary them $60,000 up of his ain race.