British canoeist Curtis Adams Rosenthals has been banned over an “explicit” social media post

He added: “Although I understand that the video could be described as crazy, it was not illegal and certainly should not be a reason to ban an athlete.”

The Rozentals said their last funding from Paddle UK was £16,000 a year.

But he claimed to have earned more than £100,000 from his social media videos between January and May.

Paddle UK said the decision was made by a disciplinary committee, following an independent investigation and hearing relating to the Rosentals.

The Rozentals “admitted to posting an explicit video on her public Instagram profile which was later removed due to its explicit nature,” the governing body said.

It said this was a violation of its disciplinary policy regarding “inappropriate, offensive or unethical conduct” and “abusive use of social media.”

Rozentals had previously told media that he did not know the reason for his suspension but suspected it was linked to his account on the subscription site OnlyFans, which is known for hosting adult content.

The Commission found that the Rozentals “deliberately misled the press” in this regard.

When asked if he regretted the video, Rosenthals 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 filmed it and posted 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 finance training myself.”

“This was the first time I was able to get something nice for my mom after she sacrificed everything to let me chase my dream. And it came from crazy videos like the ones that got me banned.”

“I saw a direct correlation between me making these kind of videos and my life getting better. So, I was in this state of mind where I realized that all I had to do to keep this going, was keep making videos like this. It’s a crazy world we live in. I don’t regret it.”

Paddle UK said in a statement that it is “committed to ensuring a safe and open environment for all, and action is taken under the Athlete Disciplinary Policy where necessary and proportionate.”