Medal table | Olympic schedule | Olympic news
The celebrities who have come out of the woodwork to loudly and proudly support Team USA have been a highlight of the 2024 Olympics. But two of those celebrities made actual magic happen on Thursday after seeing a social media post from Team USA discus thrower Veronica Fraley.
Fraley, 24, is a student-athlete at Vanderbilt, and she posted on X about her financial situation, which is unfortunately a common one: despite being a world-class athlete who is about to compete at the Olympics, she can’t afford rent.
I compete in the Olympic Games TOMORROW and cant even pay my rent my school only sent about 75% of my rent while they pay football players (who havent won anything ) enough to buy new cars and houses
Veronica️ (@vmfraley) August 1, 2024
Fraley put her thoughts into words and sent those words to the internet. Most of the time when you do that, nothing happens (or at least nothing good). But this time, a good soul who saw her tweet tagged Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and rapper and enthusiastic Team USA supporter Flavor Flav. Both are in Paris to watch the Games, and both saw her plea. They both pledged to help her.
I gotchu,,, DM me and Ill send payment TODAY so you dont have to worry bout it TOMORROW,,, and imma be rooting for ya tomorrow LETZ GO,!!!
FLAVOR FLAV (@FlavorFlav) August 1, 2024
C’mon now! I’ll split it with @flavorfav
Alexis Ohanian (@alexisohanian) August 1, 2024
Got you! DM me your $cashtag https://t.co/X7byXz5oV7
Alexis Ohanian (@alexisohanian) August 1, 2024
And just as promised, they both came through.
pic.twitter.com/FP5xZpTrt0
Alexis Ohanian (@alexisohanian) August 1, 2024
Just DMd you,,, I gotchu
FLAVOR FLAV (@FlavorFlav) August 1, 2024
The internet can be a cold, mean place, but today it had its arms wide open and was ready to enfold Fraley in a great big digital hug. Her mentions and replies are now filled with hundreds upon hundreds of people sympathizing with her, wishing her well, and asking where they can contribute to help her and others like her.
Fraley thanked both Flav and Ohanian on X, and you could almost feel her smile through the words on the screen.
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
Veronica️ (@vmfraley) August 1, 2024
Flav, whose emotional and financial support of the women’s water polo team has been wholesome and inspiring, found the perfect way to sum up the entire wonderful situation without making the money the center.
This the power of community,,, my girl @vmfraley had 7000 people see her tweet,, only 41 people liked it,, only 5 people commented,, only 1 tagged me and @alexisohanian. Now that tweet been seen by 10 MILLION people,, her rent paid off for the year,, and people gots her back!
FLAVOR FLAV (@FlavorFlav) August 1, 2024
Millions of people have now seen Fraley’s story and are more aware of how hard it is to be an Olympian when you’re not actually at the Olympics. She’s gained an incredible number of new fans, who will be cheering her on in person and on their couches when she goes for gold next week.
Flav also made sure Fraley’s personal fundraiser was verified through GoFundMe, and encouraged everyone to check out the entire list of verified Olympic athlete fundraisers and donate where they could.
Here are all the VERIFIED @gofundme fundraisers for Paris 2024 and we asked them to verify @vmfraley new fundraiser:https://t.co/ALwZFjTMIl https://t.co/yZls6BJARh
FLAVOR FLAV (@FlavorFlav) August 1, 2024