A Team GB Olympic hopeful has been banned for two years after being told they brought their sport into “serious disrepute” with an explicit video shared on social media
A British canoeist has been slapped with a two-year ban from his sport after sharing an explicit video performing a “sexual act” on an aeroplane. Team GB hopeful Kurts Adams Rozentals, 23, uploaded footage of the incident in question on his Instagram account in March of this year.
The athlete, who has 109,000 followers on the social media platform, was told by a disciplinary panel that conducted an independent investigation and hearing that his antics not only brought the sport into “serious disrepute,” but also amounted to gross misconduct.
Alongside his ban from competition and training, Rozentals’ place on the World Class Programme – a lottery-funded initiative that helps Team GB athletes aiming to compete at the 2028 and 2032 Olympics – was taken away.
Organised by Paddle UK, the nation’s governing body for canoeing, kayaking and other paddlesports, Rozentals said he felt that the suspension was “very extreme” and the posting of the video didn’t warrant a ban.
Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: “This ban would have never happened if athletes were funded properly. 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.”
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Revealing that his recent funding from Paddle UK amounted to £16,000 per year, he claimed to earn over a whopping £100,000 through a subscription-based social media platform between January and May.
The governing body stated that the canoeist had “admitted posting an explicit video on their public Instagram profile which was subsequently removed given its explicit nature.” He was told that his social media post breached their disciplinary policy which related to “indecent, offensive or immoral behaviour” and “offensive use of social media.”
Asked whether he regretted the video upon being handed the two-year ban, he 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.”
Paddle UK released a statement which 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.”
Rozentals has had an OnlyFans account since January 10th with his bio on the site reading: “Well this wasn’t on my 2025 list, but here we f***ing go!!! no filters. no limits. just me.”
