An aspiring Olympian has been given a two-year suspension just a few months after announcing he joined OnlyFans to support his dreams in sports.
Kurts Adams Rozentals, known for his talent in canoe slalom and once seen as a promising member of Team GB, has been officially removed from the Olympic programme after an inquiry by Paddle UK.
The governing body announced the decision on November 2, explaining that the 23-year-old had “intentionally misinformed the press” about the true reason for his suspension earlier this year.
Rozentals had previously stated that his suspension in April was related to his content on OnlyFans. However, a disciplinary panel discovered that he had actually uploaded an explicit video on Instagram, which was later taken down due to its nature.
Paddle UK released a statement saying: “Paddle UK can confirm that in line with our Athlete Disciplinary Policy, a canoe slalom athlete has been de-selected from the World Class Programme and issued with a two-year suspension which is back-dated to the time of the offence.
“The decision was issued by a disciplinary panel following an independent investigation led by Sport Integrity and a disciplinary hearing where the athlete presented his case.”
Although Paddle UK did not specifically name Rozentals, he confirmed the statement pertained to him.
The statement further detailed that the disciplinary panel found that the athlete admitted to “posting an explicit video on their public Instagram profile which was subsequently removed given its explicit nature,” and that “the athlete had intentionally misinformed the press that his suspension was related to his OnlyFans social media account.”
“Paddle UK is committed to ensuring a safe and open environment for all, and action under the Athlete Disciplinary Policy is taken where necessary and proportionate,” the statement concluded.
Rozentals described the sanction as “very extreme,” pointing out that he only received $21,000 (£16,000) in annual support, which he argued is insufficient for full-time training.
“This ban would have never happened if athletes were funded properly,” he stated to BBC Sport.
“And while I understand the video could be described as crazy, it was not illegal and certainly shouldn’t be the reason for banning an athlete.”
In June, Rozentals had mentioned to Sky News that he turned to OnlyFans due to financial difficulties.
“I started making what they describe as ‘edgy videos’, with the focus to grow a following, because trying to live on the salary Paddle UK pays their athletes is near impossible,” he explained.
He recounted that he was “on the verge of homelessness” before achieving financial stability through the adult content platform, reportedly earning six figures.