Rapper Flavor Flav stepped in to help Olympic discus player Veronica Fraley pay her rent one day before competing in the Paris games. Fraley said her financial situation can be partially blamed on the college name, image, and likeness policies that “favor popularity over performance.”
Flavor Flav’s gesture came after Fraley posted on social media platform X that she’ll compete in the Olympics on Friday, but she “can’t even pay my rent,” according to Forbes. Fraley, a track and field athlete at Vanderbilt University, said her school sent “about 75% of my rent while they pay football players (who haven’t won anything) enough to buy new cars and houses.”
Hours after she posted on X, Flavor Flav responded with an offer to send Fraley the money. Later, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian offered to split any costs with the rapper and went ahead to post a screenshot from a $7,760 Venmo transaction with the note “‘MURICA ???.”
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Flavor Flav is known for his music career but he is also a true sports lover. Reacting to a plea from Maggie Steffens, captain of the U.S. women’s water polo team in May, the hip-hop legend vowed to assist them in their journey to the Paris Olympics.
The three-time gold medalist opened up about the financial hardships facing many Olympians such as working multiple jobs to support their dreams. Posting a story on Instagram on May 4, Stiffens explained her team’s struggles in securing funding for necessities like travel, accommodations, and training, as reported by WBLS. The renowned hip-hop icon decided to surprise many by offering his support. He declared that he would personally sponsor the U.S. women’s water polo team. Supporting Fraley comes after his earlier pledge to the water polo team.
Fraley has already earned the titles of 2024 SEC Field Athlete of the Year and 2024 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She is also a two-time qualifier for the World Athletics Championships and won bronze in discus at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
In 2021, the National Collegiate Athletics Association changed its rules to enable players to receive money from sponsors while still playing on a college team. Popular athletes have benefited more from these changes than those who are not popular yet excellent at what they do.
The Paris Olympics was formally opened on Friday, July 26 with over a thousand athletes competing in various disciplines, including football, tennis, swimming and fencing.
The only billionaire to compete in the games is LeBron James. James became a billionaire in 2022 when his net worth hit $1 billion, making him the first active NBA player to become a billionaire, according to Forbes. That same year, he achieved another personal milestone as the highest-paid NBA player in history via a new contract extension with the Lakers.
