5 hours ago
7
A British canoeist has been banned for two years for posting "explicit" footage of himself on social media.
A disciplinary panel found that Kurts Adams Rozentals brought the sport into "serious disrepute" when he uploaded a video of him performing what it called a "sexual act" on an aeroplane to his public Instagram account in March, and that this amounted to gross misconduct.
As well as being banned from all competition and training, he has also been deselected from the World Class Programme - UK Sport's lottery-funded initiative to help athletes at the 2028 and 2032 Olympics - by Paddle UK.
Rozentals, 23, told BBC Sport he felt the punishment was "very extreme" and does not regret the video.
"This ban would have never happened if athletes were funded properly," he said.
"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."
Rozentals said his most recent funding from Paddle UK was £16,000 per year.
But he claimed he had earned more than £100,000 from his social media videos between January and May.
Paddle UK said the decision was made by a disciplinary panel, following an independent investigation and hearing involving Rozentals.
The governing body said Rozentals had "admitted posting an explicit video on their public Instagram profile which was subsequently removed given its explicit nature".
It said this was a breach of its disciplinary policy relating to "indecent, offensive or immoral behaviour" and "offensive use of social media".
Rozentals had previously told media he did not know the reason for his suspension but suspected it was linked to his account on the subscription website OnlyFans, which is known for hosting adult content.
The panel found Rozentals had "intentionally misinformed the press" in this regard.
Asked if he regretted the video, Rozentals told BBC Sport: "Looking back now, I probably wouldn't post something like that. But I remember the state of mind I was in when I did film it and post it. It was the first time in my life I saw real progress in my financial situation. It was the first time I was able to fund the training myself.
"It was the first time I was able to get my mum something nice after her sacrificing everything in order to allow me to chase my dream. And it came from crazy videos like the one that got me banned.
"I saw a direct correlation of me making those type of videos and my life situation improving. So, I was in this state of mind where I knew that all I have to do to continue this, is keep making videos like this. It's a crazy world we live in. I don't regret it."
In a statement, Paddle UK said it is "committed to ensuring a safe and open environment for all, and action under the athlete disciplinary policy is taken where necessary and proportionate".
