Alexis Ohanian, Flavor Flav Pay U.S. Olympian's Rent Ahead of Paris 2024 Debut Veronica Fraley is set to compete in the Women's Discus championship on Friday.
By Emily Rella Edited by Melissa Malamut
Key Takeaways
- Team USA Discus Olympian Veronica Fraley posted on X that although she's about to compete in Paris, she can't pay her rent in the U.S.
- Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian and rapper Flavor Flav teamed up and paid her rent in full—and then some—in a now viral post.
- Flavor Flav is also the official sponsor of the U.S. Women's Water Polo team.
Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian and rapper Flavor Flav are proud to be Americans — and they're opening their wallets to prove it.
On Thursday, USA track and field Olympian Veronica Fraley took to X to lament that she can't pay her rent while competing in Paris, and her school prioritizes paying its football players instead.
Related: How Much Do Olympic Athletes Earn When They Medal in Paris?
"I compete in the Olympic Games TOMORROW and can't even pay my rent," Fraley wrote. "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, the 2024 NCAA Women's Discus champion, is currently earning her second Master's degree at Vanderbilt University and is set to compete in the Women's Discus throw championship in Paris on Friday.
Fraley later clarified that her "irritation isn't with the school itself" but with rules that prevent her from "making the amount I'm WORTH as a collegiate athlete, such as NIL which favors popularity over performance." Under the new NIL (name, image, likeness) rule, "Schools can identify NIL opportunities and facilitate deals between student-athletes and third parties" for money.
Then, Flavor Flav and Ohanian decided to step in.
Flav responded first and offered to pay her rent while also asking what time she was competing so that he could go out and support her on Friday.
Man of word,,, and Imma try and come by and support you in person tomorrow ,,, LMK what time pic.twitter.com/9seNCQSHCZ
— FLAVOR FLAV (@FlavorFlav) August 1, 2024
Ohanian then offered to split the payment with Flavor Flav and followed up with a screenshot of his payment, noting that he chose to send her $7,760 because he "likes the number" as a nod to his Venture Capital fund, 776.
Update! It is done. pic.twitter.com/WEX18Gny60
— Alexis Ohanian ?? (@alexisohanian) August 1, 2024
Ohanian is married to former Olympian, Serena Williams, who won four gold medals for Team USA in tennis.
Fraley thanked Ohanian and Flavor Flav for their donations before revealing that she had paid her rent on Friday morning.
THANK YOU & @FlavorFlav SO MUCH ?? this makes every difference in the WORLD & I hope to represent team USA well this week ??❤️ https://t.co/L1VzCJCjbm
— Veronica™⚓️ (@vmfraley) August 1, 2024
This isn't the first time during the 2024 Olympic Games that Flavor Flav has decided to help out U.S. Olympians in need.
In May, the rapper became the official sponsor of the U.S. Women's Water Polo Team (and self-proclaimed hype man) after an Instagram post from team member Maggie Steffens went viral. She highlighted how many Olympic athletes take multiple jobs to make enough money to support their athletic dreams.
Flavor Flav commented on Steffens' post that, as a girl dad and supporter of all women's sports, he would "sponsor the whole team" and "use all my relationships and resources to help all y'all even more."
Related: Small Parisian Businesses Suffering Due to the Olympics: Report
According to NBC, a representative for Flavor Flav confirmed that Fraley's rent had been paid in full but did not disclose the exact amount that was paid.
"After Paris, I am aiming for the 2025 World Championships and 2028 Olympics next as I begin my professional track and field career," Fraley said.
