Sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who won the 100 meter dash in the Olympic trials last month, violated the anti-drug policy set by the World Anti-Doping Agency, the International Olympic Committee-affiliated body that monitors the drug use by global competitors.
She is twenty-one years old. Did she pout and complain? … No.
She is a female. Did she hint that the decision was based on misogyny by the testing agency? … No.
She is African-American. Did she claim “racism” by the International Olympic Committee (the IOC)? … No.
Rather on 7/2/21 she explained her reasoning for marijuana use.
She said that she resorted to marijuana use to cope with the trauma that ensued following the death of her mother.
“We all have our different struggles, we all have our different things we deal with, but to put on a face and have to go out in front of the world and put on a face and hide my pain,” Richardson said on NBC’s “Today” show. “Who are you? Who am I to tell you how to cope when you’re dealing with a pain or you’re dealing with a struggle that you’ve never experienced before or that you never thought you’d have to deal with. Who am I to tell you how to cope? Who am I to tell you you’re wrong for hurting?”
“This is just one Games. I’m 21, I’m very young. … I have plenty of Games left in me to compete in and I have plenty of talent that backs me up, because everything I do comes from me naturally. No steroid, no anything,” she said. “This incident was about marijuana, so after my sanction is up I’ll be back and able to compete, and every single time I step on the track I’ll be ready for whatever anti-doping agency to come and get what it is that they need.”
“Don’t judge me, because I am human… I just happen to run a little faster.”
Contrast the response of Ms. Richardson with the following on Twitter, also on 7/2/21 :
Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the suspension of U.S. track runner Sha’Carri Richardson from the Olympics a form of “racist” policy. Ocasio-Cortez called the criminalization of marijuana a “racist” and “colonial” policy and said the IOC should overturn Richardson’s suspension.
Does anyone think that AOC knows anything about the IOC? To me she is merely a typical bloviating and blathering politician who apparently does not engage her brain before she speaks. On the other hand Sha’Carri Richardson’s response was that of a truly upstanding individual. Her fortitude in this difficult situation demonstrates her character. If I were a businessman, I would hire Ms. Richardson in a nanosecond, whereas you couldn’t force me to hire Ms. Ocasio-Cortez even as a bartender.
7/4/21