American rapper Flavor Flav and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian have teamed up to sponsor US track and field athlete Veronica Fraley, who recently shared her struggle to pay rent despite qualifying for the Paris Olympics. Ahead of her debut at the Summer Olympics, Mr Fraley took to X (formerly Twitter) to share her pressing concern. "I compete in the Olympic Games TOMORROW and can't even pay my rent," the 24-year-old wrote on the microblogging site on Thursday, adding that her school just sent 75% of her rent.
"my school only sent about 75% of my rent while they pay football players (who haven't won anything) enough to buy new cars and houses," Ms Fraley said.
Her post quickly caught the attention of US rapper Flavor Flav and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who pledged to help by sending the athlete some money directly. "I gotchu,,, DM me and I'll send payment TODAY so you don't have to worry bout it TOMORROW,,, and imma be rooting for ya tomorrow LETZ GO,!!!" wrote Flav.
Mr Ohanian, who is married to tennis champion Serena Williams, also pledged to help Ms Fraley. "C'mon now! I'll split it with @flavorfav," he tweeted. In the following post, he also shared a screenshot of a $7,760 Venmo payment he sent her. He wrote that he chose the amount because he liked the number - which alludes to his venture capital firm, Seven Seven Six.
According to NBC News, a representative for Flav confirmed that the rapper paid Ms Fraley's rent in full. Flav reportedly said that he is "happy to help out those who are representing the best of us. This is exactly why I'm in Paris and the awareness I been trying to bring to these athletes needs".
In response, Ms Fraley thanked the rapper. "THANK YOU & @FlavorFlav SO MUCH! this makes every difference in the WORLD & I hope to represent team USA well this week," she wrote.
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"Thanks for the supporting messages but I want to clarify my irritation isn't with the school itself, mainly the rules that bar me from making the amount I'm WORTH as a collegiate athlete such as NIL (name, image and likeness) which favors popularity over performance. that's all I'm sayin. Wish me luck tm!" the athlete later said on X.
She also shared a link to a GoFundMe campaign, asking for support from the broader public. "After Paris, I am aiming for the 2025 World Championships and 2028 Olympics next as I begin my professional track and field career!" Ms Fraley wrote on X.
