Olympic glory is thrilling, but it doesn鈥檛 always pay the bills.
Veronica Fraley, a discus thrower on Team USA, shared as much earlier this week, when she told her followers on X that she was struggling to make ends meet.
鈥淚 compete in the Olympic Games TOMORROW and can鈥檛 even pay my rent,鈥 she on X, punctuating with an emoji wearing an incredulous expression.
Enter Flavor Flav, the of the US water polo teams, and Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian. The men, who鈥檝e been at the Paris Olympics all week, banded together to not only pay Fraley鈥檚 rent for the month but cover her rent for the rest of 2024.
鈥淚鈥檓 just happy to help those who are representing the best of all of us,鈥 Flav said in a statement to CNN. 鈥淭his is exactly why I have been in Paris. I am trying to bring awareness of some of the hardships Olympians experience. They are out here working two to three jobs just to get by.鈥
Fraley, a first-time Olympian and a graduate student at Vanderbilt University, shared her financial troubles on X on Thursday, the day before her qualifying event.
鈥淢y school only sent about 75 per cent of my rent while they pay football players 鈥 enough to buy new cars and houses,鈥 she wrote on X, noting that the Vanderbilt Commodores football team 鈥渉aven鈥檛 won anything.鈥 (Last season, the team won two games and lost 10. Vanderbilt doesn鈥檛 make its athletes鈥 earnings through 鈥 or name, image and likeness 鈥 deals public, but a revealed that top college football players could make hundreds of thousands of dollars every year.)
Vanderbilt University did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment.
Flav found Fraley鈥檚 post and pledged his support.
鈥淚 gotchu,鈥 he . 鈥淒M me and I鈥檒l send payment TODAY so you don鈥檛 have to worry bout it TOMORROW.鈥
A representative for Flav confirmed to CNN that the Public Enemy co-founder paid Fraley鈥檚 rent in full and that Ohanian paid her rent for the rest of 2024.
CNN has reached out to Ohanian鈥檚 representatives for comment. Meanwhile, Ohanian a screenshot on X of a transaction in which he sent Fraley $7,760.
Fraley thanked Flav and Ohanian in a post, 鈥溾嬧媡his makes every difference in the WORLD & I hope to represent team USA well this week.鈥
And for curious followers, Fraley confirmed on Friday that she 鈥減aid (her) rent this morning鈥 with a bevy of grateful emojis.
Fraley will compete in the discus throw qualifier Friday afternoon. In a sharing her GoFundMe page, she said she plans to tackle a world championship in 2025 and, eventually, the 2028 Summer Games.
Flavor Flav watches the women's water polo match between team Italy team USA at the Paris Olympics on July 31. (Deepbluemedia / Mondadori Portfolio / Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
Flav has been one of the most consistent and vocal supporters of women athletes at the Paris Olympics. He sprung into action earlier this year when he that several players on the US women鈥檚 water polo team were working multiple jobs to support themselves. Now, he both the US men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 water polo teams.
鈥淗opefully this will open up the door for other celebrities to do what I鈥檓 doing and come and sponsor some of these Olympic teams,鈥 he 鈥淭oday鈥 in an interview from the Games. 鈥淲hen people aren鈥檛 really out here competing, they鈥檙e home, working 鈥 There鈥檚 nothing wrong with coming in and giving that little extra push.鈥
Ohanian, too, has backed women鈥檚 sports as a fan and financier. (He鈥檚 married to all-time tennis great Serena Williams, after all, and her as 鈥渢he prototype for how you can show women鈥檚 sports is 鈥 on the same level as men鈥檚.鈥) The venture capitalist has invested in Angel City FC, Los Angeles鈥 professional women鈥檚 soccer team, and is hosting an event for women runners later this year with a US$60,000 prize.
Athletes aren鈥檛 paid to compete at the Olympics, though some countries . So Ohanian a challenge: If the runners who were competing at both his event and the Olympics won a gold medal in Paris, he鈥檇 pay them US$60,000 ahead of his own race.
The people of Fort Chipewyan believe the federal government believe the federal government knew its water was contaminated and hid the issue for years. Now the chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation is leading the call for immediate action.
The death toll from Hurricane Helene inched up to 227 on Saturday as the grim task of recovering bodies continued more than a week after the monster storm ravaged the Southeast and killed people in six states.
A driver suffered only minor injuries after going airborne in a residential neighbourhood in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Friday, the car eventually landing on its roof in someone鈥檚 backyard.
Donald Trump returned on Saturday to the Pennsylvania fairgrounds where he was nearly assassinated in July, holding a sprawling rally with thousands of supporters in a critical swing state Trump hopes to return to his column in November's election.
Canadians who are eligible for a GST/HST tax credit can expect their final payment of the year on Friday.
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Police released the identities of the mother and daughter who were killed after a fire tore through a 160-year-old building in Old Montreal on Friday.
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Demonstrators converged on downtown Ottawa Saturday afternoon as part of a global day of action to protest Israel's military actions in the Middle East.
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Ontario Provincial Police have laid stunt charges against a driver caught speeding 75 km/h over the speed limit on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end.
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Powerful new explosions rocked Beirut's southern suburbs late Saturday as Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon, striking a Palestinian refugee camp deep in the north for the first time as it targeted both Hezbollah and Hamas fighters.
Donald Trump returned on Saturday to the Pennsylvania fairgrounds where he was nearly assassinated in July, holding a sprawling rally with thousands of supporters in a critical swing state Trump hopes to return to his column in November's election.
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A French judge in the trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose now former husband had repeatedly drugged her so that he and others could assault her decided on Friday to allow the public to see some of the video recordings of the alleged rapes.
French authorities said four migrants, including a two-year-old child, died Saturday in two separate incidents as they attempted to cross the English Channel toward Britain.
A rural Colorado county courthouse beefed up security Friday after threats were made against staff and a judge who sentenced former county clerk Tina Peters to nearly nine years behind bars for her role in a data breach scheme catalyzed by the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau repeatedly reiterated calls for a ceasefire in the Middle East on Saturday as he blamed Hamas, Hezbollah and Israel for a staggering number of civilian deaths.
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Hollywood star Keanu Reeves made his professional auto racing debut on Saturday in an event in which 'The Matrix' star spun out at famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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While the summer may be over, construction season in Lethbridge is not.
Lethbridge police executed dozens of warrants and laid numerous charges in another targeted enforcement project in the downtown area.
A person was airlifted to hospital following a serious crash in Taber, Alta., on Friday morning. Taber RCMP responded to the scene on Highway 864 around 10:30 a.m., for a crash involving an SUV and a semi-truck.
The Ontario College of Family Physicians has presented awards to 750 doctors based on comments from patients, including eight physicians who are part of the Group Health Centre in Sault Ste. Marie.
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A northeastern Ontario jury has started deliberating in Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial, we can now tell you what they weren't allowed to hear.
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A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people鈥檚 basic human right to food.
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