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.
If you can imagine the ancient Olympics with all those naked male athletes running and flexing, the sex trade would have been happening back then too.
Lots of consensual sex happens in modern Olympic villages today, because just healthy young people getting together.
I thought the point being made here is that they should be making enough money to not have to resort to Only fans.
What does whether they’re getting it on in camp or not have to do with this article?
I think people are forgetting something, which is that younger people like clout. OnlyFans isn’t really that taboo for a lot of younger people. It’s associated with being hot and making money. A lot of Olympians probably WANTED their OnlyFans to pop off because they thought it was cool. And they don’t have to show full nudes or sex, many just post in swimsuits, softcore porn, or tasteful covered nudes. Being “forced” to do OnlyFans is a bit of a stretch for some athletes, but I agree that the games in general are exploiting the athletes. I think the games themselves could be considered a type of sex work, though.
It is amazing how sex work specifically makes people hate capitalism. People don’t mind a capitalist, but as soon as that capitalist is a pimp or madame, then they can see the immorality
How to make a self in a broad cultural landscape of confomity?
Cause sex work allows social mobility. The feudalistic lords also hated merchants cause they threatened the social hierarchy.
100%! Sex work is inherently empowering and destroys typical power dynamics in cishet monogamous relationships.
You are aggressively missing the point. Don’t you think “the youths” would prefer being able to pay rent over clout? Onlyfans isn’t the problem here, the point is it should be something they have the option to do rather than the only way to afford to compete.
If you have no problem with them pushing lotion ads, why are you so upset about sex work?
What? I want them to be paid a living wage and be able to do sex work if they choose to. I think we are on the same page maybe?
Yes I agree with that :)
Problem is that people in the Olympics aren’t supposed to be professional athletes. IOW they can’t make any money off their skills. I think the Olympic rules have sought to reinforce that not because they really don’t want paid athletes, just that they want everyone surrounding the Olympic entertainment industry to get paid instead. Networks, venues, vendors, etc.
The IOC hasn’t required amateur status since 1988. Some sports still do, as the IOC mostly relies on the governing bodies for each sport to set the rules, but for the Olympics as a whole, that’s a relic of the past.
You’re right. I knew the stance had changed over time thanks to things like the US wanting to beat the USSR. I didn’t realize it had changed so much. Nonetheless, unless the participant is a big star, they may not get paid much at all, or only if they medal.
Yes, but the point is that you don’t make money from participating in the Olympics. You might get some sponsorships or advertising deals, things like that. But you can’t build a monetary career on being an athlete at the Olympics.
Therefore you will only see those pro sports people there who are really ambitious about wanting to get a medal. A successful sports person who isn’t interested in that will most likely not participate at all.
I just watched LeBron James play in the Olympic basketball gold medal game earlier this afternoon so this most definitely is not the case anymore
We saw professional players enter the Olympics in the ‘70s and of course the biggest surge was in the ‘80s. Why? The US wanted to dominate the Olympics against the USSR. You mention basketball, they don’t get paid by the NBA or anyone else. US stars will get bonuses for participating from their major sponsors like Nike, and of course if they do well, Gerri g their name associated with a big Olympic win is great for branding contracts. Other stars may get paid per-medal won.
So no, they don’t get paid like a professional player does, but they do make money. I’ll also offer that the big name stars are going to be making the real contract money. That’s rare for the rest of the competitors. Famously, medals have ended up on eBay because the winners needed cash.
I think I misunderstood your initial statement as well, to be fair. I took that to mean “people who play professionally and make money from it aren’t allowed” and not what I now believe you meant which is “people who play in the Olympics are not paid to do so”.
Which makes sense, it seems strange to bar a professional basketball player from the Olympics simply because that’s how they make their paycheck. I misunderstood the initial statement and didn’t think about it long enough to notice before making my reply.
Isn’t it up to the athletes then to not participate and boycott the olympics until they treat their talent better?
They should unionize.
The aura of amateur status still looms large.
I reckon that it is to fund their own training when their government is too corrupt and uncaring to support them. Us in the West take for granted that the government provide support to train prospective athletes; but it’s not so much in developing countries. The Philippines’ first ever Olympic gold medallist- Hydeline Diaz- won two years ago in Tokyo. But prior to that, she begged and implored to both the public and the government to provide financial support her aspirations to compete in the Olympics but she was shunned. It was only after she won gold, unexpectedly, that everyone tried to rub their shoulders with her to play as sycophants. This year, Filipino politicians and business elites have also been brown nosing themselves to Carlos Yulo after winning two gold medals.
The athlete mentioned here is a British diver.
England is a Wester country, I presume, so I guess your assumption is at least partially wrong: even in the west some athletes might not be making ends meet.
Maybe for developing countries, it’s better to fund 1000 teachers instead of 1000 Olympic hopefuls
If the latter is even being seriously done by governments of those countries, then that’s a start!
Plot twist: 1000 Physical Education teachers.
None are being funded lol.
Related:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYOg8EON29Y
Maybe the wealthy countries should fund grants to athletes whose countries won’t support them, whether due to poverty or corruption.
I don’t think it should be for the government to fund you. There are other much better ways of spending public money. If you participate I a sport that no one watches (and thus you can’t get a sponsor), why should we fund that?
*extremely healthy in peak physical condition riding high on adrenaline.