Dire financial straits are leading droves of Olympic athletes to sell images of their bodies to subscribers on OnlyFans — known for sexually explicit content — to sustain their dreams of gold at the Games. As they struggle to make ends meet, a spotlight is being cast on an Olympics funding system that watchdog groups condemn as “broken,” claiming most athletes “can barely pay their rent.”
The Olympics, the world’s biggest sporting stage, bring in billions of dollars in TV rights, ticket sales and sponsorship, but most athletes must fend for themselves financially.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not express concern about the situation. When asked by The Associated Press about athletes turning to OnlyFans, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said, “I would assume that athletes, like all citizens, are allowed to do what they can.”
Watching his sponsorships dry up and facing mounting costs, Jack Laugher was among the pantheon of Olympic athletes using the often-controversial platform to get to the Games — or simply survive.
Um, my country doesn’t fund its athletes’ travel and entry to the games; and training is a sponsorship deal already. It’s a hidden hustle to get to compete, and it’s not talked about but it’s definitely part of every athlete’s job at this point.
We talk about funding our hopefuls, out of some federal sports fund-bucket, but the conservatives argue that’s a waste of money when they already don’t want to fund schools or healthcare.