When you’re an Olympian getting ready to compete in your first Olympic Games, the last thing you want to worry about is rent.
Luckily for U.S. track and field athlete Veronica Fraley, she won’t have to, thanks to some high-profile fans: Flavor Flav and Alexis Ohanian.
Fraley said on social media on Thursday that even though she is set to make her Olympic debut on Friday in the women’s discus, she can’t pay rent since her school, Vanderbilt, only sent 75% of her rent.
The post quickly gained attention on social media, and it wasn’t long until the Public Enemy co-founder stepped up to the plate.
‘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,!!!’ Flavor Flav wrote.
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Not that long afterward, Ohanian — Reddit co-founder and Serena Williams’ husband — said he’d do the same.
Alexis Ohanian, Flavor Flav cover Veronica Fraley’s rent
After saying he’d split the funding with Flavor Flav, Ohanian posted a screenshot from Venmo that showed he sent Fraley $7,760. Flavor Flav also said he’s a ‘man of my word’ and posted a screenshot indicating a payment went to Fraley.
Representatives for Flavor Flav confirmed to NBC News he sent money to Fraley. On Thursday evening, Flavor Flav said on social media that he paid for Fraley’s rent for this month and that Ohanian covered her rent for the rest of the year.
A Go Fund Me set up for Fraley has also received more than $8,000 as of Thursday night.
Fraley, who won the 2024 NCAA discus championship with Vanderbilt, said her frustrations aren’t with the university but ‘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.’ But she is grateful for what Ohanian and Flavor Flav did for her.
‘This makes every difference in the WORLD & I hope to represent Team USA well this week,’ she said.
Ohanian and Flavor Flav have become big advocates for women’s sports and that hasn’t slowed down at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Ohanian invests in women’s track and will host an invitational this fall, and Flavor Flav is official hype man for the U.S. water polo squads as he is a sponsor for the women’s team.
