Olympic hopeful banned from competing ‘over OnlyFans account’

British canoeist and Olympic Games hopeful Kurt Adams Rozentals says he has been banned from competing because he has an OnlyFans account.

Rozentals, who competes in the canoe slalom, was suspended by the sports governing body Paddle UK back in April due to an “investigation”.

The sportsman said that he had landed a place on the Great Britain (GB) World Class Programme a few years ago, a UK Spor-funded programme which works to support athletes to prepare for the Olympics. Yet Paddle UK had since removed him from the programme.

Paddle UK said in a statement, via Sky News, that Rozentals is under interim action pending the result of an investigation, but stressed that his suspension was not “disciplinary action”.

Yet Rozentals believes that the investigation is due to his account on subscription-based, video sharing platform OnlyFans, which is often used to host adult content. 

Rozentals said that he has been involved in canoe slalom for the past 15 years, and had earned medals on the international stage – including a C1 silver at the World Under-23 Championships in 2023.

Yet he began sharing content on the platform back in January in order to help him further fund his canoeing career.

While Paddle UK provided the athlete with an annual grant of £16,000, he said it wasn’t enough to sustain training and other living expenses.

“I don’t know how much you need but it’s certainly not £16,000,” Rozentals told the BBC.

“When you have to cover rent, travel, food… and most athletes who train full-time are all living in London.

“They’re very fortunate to have parent backing – I wasn’t. I never had the ability to move to London because of financial struggles so I was always doing the travel from the East Midlands, where I live, to London, back-and-forth, back-and-forth.”

In a post on social media in April, Rozentals said that he began making “edgy videos” on OnlyFans because “trying to live on the salary Paddle UK pays their athletes is near impossible”.

“I was sick of worrying how to pay rent, I was sick of being on the verge of homelessness. I did whatever it took to never be in that position. Was it unconventional? Sure. I’m not perfect. 

“But to ban me from racing… that’s f**king insane.”

Kurt Adams Rozentals told the BBC that he has made more than £100,000 in the near six months since starting his OnlyFans page. He currently has 39 videos on the platform, and warns in his OnlyFans bio that the content has “no limits, no filters” and is not suitable for under 18-year-olds.

Yet now he says he is being forced to decide between earning money on OnlyFans and chasing his Olympic Games dream.

“This is the hardest decision that I’ve ever faced in my life,” he told the BBC. 

“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”.

In its statement, Paddle UK said that Rozentals’ ban was put in place to “safeguard other athletes, staff, and volunteers due to the nature of the allegation”. Its disciplinary policy prevents its athletes from “offensive use of social media” and “offensive or immortal behaviour”.

It continued: “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.”

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