Copyright walesonline
A British canoeist has received a two-year suspension from competition after posting an explicit video performing a "sexual act" on an aeroplane. Team GB prospect Kurts Adams Rozentals, 23, shared footage of the incident in question on his Instagram account in March this year. The athlete, who boasts 109,000 followers on the social media platform, was informed by an independent disciplinary panel that his behaviour brought the sport into "serious disrepute" and constituted gross misconduct. In addition to his competition and training ban, Rozentals has lost his position on the World Class Programme - a lottery-funded scheme supporting Team GB athletes targeting the 2028 and 2032 Olympics. Following an investigation by Paddle UK, the national governing body for canoeing, kayaking and paddlesports, Rozentals described the punishment as "very extreme" and argued the video didn't merit a ban. In comments to BBC Sport, he stated: "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." Disclosing that his recent Paddle UK funding totalled £16,000 annually, he claimed to generate over £100,000 through a subscription-based social media platform between January and May. The governing body confirmed that the canoeist had "admitted posting an explicit video on their public Instagram profile which was subsequently removed given its explicit nature." He was informed that his social media post violated their disciplinary policy, which pertains to "indecent, offensive or immoral behaviour" and "offensive use of social media." When asked by BBC Sport if he regretted the video after receiving a two-year ban, he said: "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 issued a statement saying 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 been on OnlyFans since January 10, with his profile description stating: "Well this wasn't on my 2025 list, but here we f***ing go! ! ! no filters. no limits. just me."
