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Celebrities coming out of the woodwork to proudly and loudly support Team USA have been a highlight of the 2024 Olympics. But two of those celebrities made something magical happen 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 (formerly known as Twitter) about her unfortunately common financial situation: Despite being a world-class athlete about to compete in the Olympics, she can’t pay her rent.
I’m competing in the Olympics TOMORROW and I can’t even pay rent my school only sent about 75% of my rent while they pay the soccer players (who haven’t won anything ) enough to buy new cars and houses
— Veronica (@vmfraley) August 1, 2024
Fraley put her thoughts into words and posted them on 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 avid Team USA supporter Flava Flav. Both are in Paris to watch the Games, and both saw her plea. Both pledged to help her.
Gotcha,,, DM me and I’ll send you the payment TODAY so you don’t have to worry about it TOMORROW,,, and I’ll be supporting you tomorrow GO!
— FLAVOR FLAVOR (@FlavorFlav) August 1, 2024
And just as they promised, they both delivered.
I just sent you a private message… I understand you.
— FLAVOR FLAVOR (@FlavorFlav) August 1, 2024
The Internet can be a cold, cruel, and hurtful place, but today it had its arms open and was ready to wrap Fraley in a big digital hug. Her mentions and replies are now filled with hundreds and hundreds of people sympathizing with her, wishing her well, and asking how they can contribute to helping her and others like her.
Fraley thanked both Flav and Ohanian on X, and you could almost feel his smile through the words on the screen.
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 whole wonderful situation without making money the center of attention.
This is the power of community, my girl. @vmfraley 7000 people saw your tweet, only 41 people liked it, only 5 people commented, only 1 tagged me and @alexisohanian.
Now that tweet has been seen by 10 MILLION people, her rent for the year is paid, and people are getting her back!
— FLAVOR FLAVOR (@FlavorFlav) August 1, 2024
Millions of people have seen Fraley’s story and are more aware of how difficult it is to be an Olympian when you’re not actually present at the Olympics. She’s gained an incredible number of new fans, who will be cheering her on in person and from 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 Full list of verified fundraising Olympians and donate wherever they could.