After ceasing to receive their public allowance in January, athletes have had to look for alternatives to obtain resources and be able to continue participating in international competitions. Two Mexican divers have opted to open accounts on OnlyFans, a platform known for its mostly erotic content, in order to obtain funds to finance their participation in international sporting events.
The first to do so was Diego Balleza, 28, who opened his account in March, followed by Andres Villareal, 26, who did the same in June. Both participated in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
They have ahead of them the World Swimming Championships to be held in Fukuoka, Japan, July 14–30; the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, to be held Oct. 20–Nov. 5; and the Paris Olympics in the summer of 2024. However, they face these challenges without resources after the 30,000 peso (more than US$1,700) public scholarship they used to receive was withdrawn.
Diego Balleza explained in an interview with Milenio that OnlyFans is a way to move forward and that many of his peers find themselves in the same situation after half a year without receiving their federal salary. For him, it is not taboo, as many European athletes have profiles on OnlyFans. Balleza affirmed that he sees nothing wrong with it, as he is simply expressing his bodily freedom.
The situation of Mexican swimmers became critical starting in January, when the National Commission of Physical Culture and Sports (Conade) stopped paying athletes affiliated with the Swimming Federation. This came after World Aquatics, the international swimming federation, intervened in the Mexican institution due to an embezzlement of almost 9 million dollars attributed to the then president of Conade, Kiril Todorov. Commissioner Ana Guevara refused to provide resources to a new committee that was to mediate the crisis.
The economic blow affected all Mexican athletes in this discipline, who were forced to pay their own expenses in order to continue competing at the international level. Some divers considered auctioning their Olympic medals to finance their trip to Japan, but an airline offered to help. The artistic swimming team sold swimsuits and commemorative towels to raise funds for the World Cup in Egypt and even sought help from billionaire Carlos Slim. At the same time, some swimmers and coaches filed lawsuits, and a federal judge ruled in their favor this month, granting them injunctions for Conade to reinstate their scholarships.