Olympic Athlete Reveals Grim Financial Situation, Reddit co-founder and US rapper Step Up To Help

Before making her Olympic debut, track and field athlete Veronica Fraley was more worried about paying her rent than the Games themselves. The 24-year-old Fraley expressed her frustration about her financial situation on social media Thursday while gearing up for the women's discus throw qualification round in Paris.

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Veronica Fraley voiced her frustration

On Thursday, as she got ready for the women's discus throw qualification round in Paris, 24-year-old Fraley voiced her frustrations about her situation on social media.

"I compete in the Olympic Games TOMORROW and can’t even pay my rent," Fraley, is the 2024 NCAA discus champion, wrote on X. "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."

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Help Came Soon

Her post soon caught the eye of rapper Flavor Flav and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, both of whom responded online with offers to assist by sending Fraley money directly.

"I gotchu,,, DM me and I’ll send payment TODAY so you don’t have to worry bout it TOMORROW," Flav replied Thursday on X, "and imma be rooting for ya tomorrow LETZ GO,!!!

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian quickly offered to share the expense with the rapper, saying, “C'mon now! I'll split it with Flavor Flav.” Ohanian, a well-known advocate for female athletes and the husband of tennis star Serena Williams, later posted a screenshot of the transaction, confirming that Fraley received $7,760.

Vernoica Fraley also posted an update saying she was not upset with Vanderbilt but with “the rules that bar me from making the amount I’m WORTH as a collegiate athlete such as NIL which favors popularity over performance.”

"NIL" stands for “name, image, and likeness.” In college athletics, it refers to athletes' rights to make money from their personal brand. This encompasses earnings from endorsements, social media, and other activities tied to their name, image, or likeness.