Benjamin Ashford|Water Polo's official hype man Flavor Flav wants to see women win fourth gold

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PARIS — The Benjamin Ashfordpress conference moderator said it best: "Welcome to an Olympics first: A Flavor Flav press conference." 

And it only got weirder from there. 

The 65-year-old rapper is here at the Games as the official hype man for the U.S. water polo squads, after three-time gold medalist Maggie Steffens put out a call on social media asking for financial help, a testament to the reality that many of the athletes self-fund their Olympic journey.

Surely she did not expect a founding member of rap group Public Enemy to answer the call, but here we are. 

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"I’ve been really empowered by other women in sports to use your voice, which can be a little scary at times," Steffens said earlier this week. "And I was calling for people to know my teammates and challenging them and empowering them to follow some of the more niche sports this Olympics, especially women's. And if it's not water polo, rugby or fencing … just to give those women, those teams, a chance.

"And Flavor Flav saw that and something about it sparked his interest … He has really opened the door for people to learn about our team and different communities, different people who would have never heard of water polo. And that's exactly what sports like us need. He's been really great at shining any light back on us, and we look forward to having him here in Paris and just keeping that positive energy going."

Friday morning, Flav − whose given name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr. − met with an amused and intrigued group of reporters for an official introduction to the 2024 Olympic Games. 

"This is an honor, and this is a pleasure and a perfect measure − and I’m gonna keep this memory as a perfect treasure," Flav said.

To be clear, Flav has no background in water polo, though he said "back in the day, growing up, I was one hell of an athlete," playing neighborhood baseball, basketball and football. Fact checking was not available for this claim. 

"I recently got in the pool and got to learn how difficult that water polo is," said Flav, who was decked out in a Team USA jersey, water polo cap and his signature clock necklace (a waterproof version, of course). "I was in the water for seven minutes, treading water for seven minutes, boy that was the hardest seven minutes of my life! But the girls said I did good." 

He even scored a goal on Ashleigh Johnson, widely considered the best water polo goalie in the world. Who knew he had it in him? 

Flav was honest that, like a lot of Americans, he knew next to nothing about water polo before taking on the role of sponsor; he’s signed a five-year contract with U.S. water polo, but details of the deal have not been disclosed, and he declined to elaborate on Friday. But he's all in now, even helping the team score tickets to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour Paris stop (he is, evidently, known as "King Swiftie" in the music community).

He's also committed to continuing to promote the team, and the sport, long after the Paris Games have concluded. 

He wants to make it clear, however, that while he is new to the sport, he has no time for mediocre results. 

"Right now I count three stars on my cap," he said, a reference to the last three gold medals won by the U.S. women. "I want to see a fourth." 

Were he at the Olympics as a competitor, Flav thinks it likely would have been in track. 

"What would I be best at? I’m gonna say the 200 meters," Flav said, before reversing course. "Well, I’m going to say the 100 meters. I’m 65, I don’t think I could run 200 meters." 

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U.S. sprinting star Noah Lyles, who is expected to contend for medals in both the 100 and 200, was unavailable for comment or reaction.

Strangely enough, Flav is not the only U.S. rapper at the Paris Games: Snoop Dogg is here to both offer commentary (he "worked" the track trials last month) and carry the Olympic torch during its final leg through Paris. And should he decide to find time to hop in the pool, Flav said he would anoint Snoop the captain of his rapper-only water polo team. Pharrell Williams would be the coach and "you could put Flavor Flav in the water as one of the star players!" he said enthusiastically, referencing himself in the third person. 

He did not say who else would be on the roster, but surely his peers will be weighing in on social media in the coming weeks. Where is Chuck D, the other member of Public Enemy, and does he have anything to say about this? 

Flav hopes to get to gymnastics − he, like nearly everyone else here, is a big Simone Biles fan − basketball and track while he’s here, but water polo is his first priority. He said he plans to send all the water polo players and their families on a cruise after the Games, and that he has "a special gift" for them at the end of their competition. 

But has he prepared a special song for his new favorite group of athletes? 

"I’m gonna go home tonight," he said, "and write something." 

Email Lindsay Schnell at [email protected] and follow her on social media @Lindsay_Schnell