A British canoeist has received a two-year suspension for sharing «explicit» content of himself on social media.
The disciplinary committee determined that Kurts Adams Rozentals brought significant discredit to the sport when he shared a video depicting what was deemed a «sexual act» on an airplane to his public Instagram account in March, which constituted gross misconduct.
In addition to being barred from competition and training, he has been removed from the World Class Programme – the initiative funded by UK Sport to assist athletes gearing up for the 2028 and 2032 Olympics – by Paddle UK.
Rozentals, aged 23, expressed to BBC Sport that he feels the sanction is «very harsh» and has no regrets about the video.
«This ban wouldn’t have occurred if athletes received adequate funding,» he stated.
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«While I can see the video might be deemed outrageous, it wasn’t illegal and surely shouldn’t be the basis for suspending an athlete.»
Rozentals mentioned that his latest funding from Paddle UK was £16,000 annually.
However, he reported making over £100,000 from his social media content from January to May.
Paddle UK stated that the action was taken by a disciplinary committee following an independent investigation and hearing involving Rozentals.
The governing body indicated that Rozentals had «acknowledged sharing an explicit video on their public Instagram account which was later removed due to its explicit nature».
This was considered a violation of its disciplinary policy concerning «indecent, offensive or immoral conduct» and «improper use of social media».
Rozentals had previously indicated to the media that he was unaware of the reason for his suspension but suspected a connection to his account on the subscription platform OnlyFans, recognized for adult content.
The panel concluded that Rozentals had «deliberately misled the press» in this context.
When asked about regretting the video, Rozentals told BBC Sport: «In hindsight, I probably wouldn’t share something like that. But I recall my mindset at that moment when I filmed and posted it. It was the first time in my life I witnessed real improvement in my finances. It was the first occasion I was able to support my training myself.
«It was the first time I could buy something nice for my mum after she sacrificed so much for me to pursue my dreams. And it stemmed from outrageous videos like the one that led to my ban.
«I observed a clear link between creating those types of videos and my quality of life improving. Therefore, I was in the mindset of knowing that all I needed to do to keep this momentum going was to continue making videos like this. It’s a bizarre world we inhabit. I have no regrets.»
Paddle UK affirmed in a statement that it is «dedicated to fostering a safe and transparent environment for everyone, and actions under the athlete disciplinary policy are taken when required and appropriate».
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