There is an ongoing debate in the sports world as to whether or not it is appropriate for athletes, particularly Olympic athletes, to be on the subscription-based platform OnlyFans, and one Olympic hopeful is facing a difficult choice: to stay on his path to Olympic glory with no real way of making enough money to do it, or staying on OnlyFans which is how he is currently paying his bills.
Kurts Adams Rozentals is the British canoeist facing this dilemma after he was banned from competing in the individual canoe slalom earlier this year by the governing body Paddle UK following “allegations” about his posts on social media. The organization removed Rozentals from their World Class Programme. The Programme is UK Sport’s lottery-funded initiative to help athletes prepare for the Olympics. While there is a pending investigation, Paddle UK refuses to clarify the nature of the allegations.
But Rozentals is fairly confident that it is related to him creating content for OnlyFans.
“I have been posting videos (on Instagram) that are consciously made to be edgy in order to drive conversions to my ‘spicy content page’ (on OnlyFans), to fund this ultimate dream of going to the Olympics,” Rozentals said in a recent interview.
He also revealed that he has earned more than £100,000 since creating his OnlyFans account in January, which has offered him the kind of freedom he had never experienced before. But it came at a cost, as he is now suspended from competing and not even allowed to contact any of the staff or athletes on the programme.
When he got the news, he “kind of froze.”
“I couldn’t believe the words I was hearing because this is what I put my life into this is everything I do. My personality at this point, my identity, is sport and I want to be a professional athlete chasing my Olympic dream.”
And the irony is that he only created his OnlyFans account to help fund his training programme, something that other Olympic athletes have done, including British swimmer Jack Laugher. Laugher also joined to raise money to compete in the Olympics because he couldn’t make ends meet otherwise.
These athletes spend hours training every day, which doesn’t leave much time for a full-time job. While Paddle UK’s programme offers an annual grant of £16,000 to each athlete to support their training, it isn’t enough.
“I don’t know how much you need but it’s certainly not £16,000,” said Rozentals. “When you have to cover rent, travel, food… and most athletes who train full-time are all living in London.
For now, Rozentals is waiting for the outcome of PaddleUK’s investigation. The organization said, “The investigation has been referred to independent investigation service Sport Integrity. Paddle UK is committed to ensuring a safe and open environment for all, and interim action under the Athlete Disciplinary Policy is only taken where necessary and proportionate.”
So what will Rozentals do if the organization forces him to choose?
“This is the hardest decision that I’ve ever faced in my life,” he said before explaining why.
“I came to the realization about why I started doing this last winter after years of struggle, years of living on the edge, my mum working 90 hours-a-week, having bailiffs at the door. I’m going to find a way where we don’t have to struggle, where my mum can enjoy her life and I’m able to put everything into this sport because when you’re thinking about how to pay the rent this month and you’re standing at the start line, that’s not very conducive [to performing well].”
After all, that’s why he joined the platform in the first place. It wasn’t for fame or views. He was just trying to get by, and he doesn’t think he can without OnlyFans.
“It’s a tough decision but unless something changes in the way athletes are paid I don’t see a way of working with Paddle UK”.
Given the state of the global economy and longtime struggle of athletes, especially those in less popular sports, these athletic organizations may have to rethink their stance on platforms like OnlyFans.