Discus thrower Veronica Fraley was able to focus on the Paris Olympics once her rent was paid after the American’s public plea for financial help led to her rescue by two surprising sources.
Hip-hop star Flavor Flav and Alexis Ohanian, the Reddit cofounder and husband of tennis great Serena Williams, split the cost of Fraley’s rent after her financial appeal.
However, their generosity could not help Fraley, who attends Vanderbilt University, reach the Olympic discus final, as she finished 13th in qualifying on Friday to miss the final by one spot.
Photo: Reuters
“I compete in the Olympic Games TOMORROW and can’t even pay my 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,” Fraley posted on X on Thursday.
The Commodores football team went 2-10 last season, while Fraley won the NCAA discus title this season, set the school record and earned a spot on Team USA at the US Olympic track trials.
The 65-year-old Flav, who also sponsors the US women’s water polo team, was quick to respond.
“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,!!!” he wrote.
Ohanian chimed in less than 10 minutes later.
“C’mon now! I’ll split it with @flavorflav,” Ohanian wrote, and then posted less than two hours later: “Update! It is done.”
He posted again with a screenshot of a money transfer for US$7,760 to Fraley.
“Man of my word, and Imma try and come by and support you in person tomorrow. LMK what time,” Flav, the founding member of the US rap group Public Enemy, added.
Flav is in Paris as part of his duties as the official hype man for USA Water Polo — a partnership that came together after he connected with US captain Maggie Steffens on Instagram in May.
The 24-year-old Fraley’s original plea has 18 million views on X.
Ohanian is also promising to pay US$60,000 to any of the 36 athletes entered in his Athlos NYC women-only track meet on Sept. 26 if they win a gold medal in Paris. That is in addition to the US$60,000 the winners at his Athlos event would receive.
Fraley made sure to point out in a later post that her criticism wasn’t with Vanderbilt.
“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 which favors popularity over performance,” she wrote. “That’s all I’m sayin.”
Additional reporting by AP
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