San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Time to learn from Richardson ban
We can all learn a lot from what has happened to U.S. sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson.
For one thing, how to apologize.
“I just want to take responsibility for my actions,” Richardson said Friday when it was announced that she lost a shot at a gold medal in the 100 meters in Tokyo by testing positive for marijuana at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
“I know what I did, I know what I’m supposed to do, I’m allowed to do, and I still made that decision. I’m not making an excuse or looking for any empathy in my case.”
Richardson actually apologized, for real. She did not read a mattresstag statement written by agents and lawyers. She did not say, “If I have offended anybody ...” She did not offer a bogus alibi, like, somebody spiked her toothpaste.
She did note that she has been coping with emotional issues, including the death of her biological mother the week before the Trials, but Richardson said that everyone has troubles, and she wasn’t using hers as an excuse.
Something else we can learn from this: Sometimes, more than one apology is called for. In this case, it would be good to hear from the World AntiDoping Agency and its American counterpart, USADA, and US Track & Field. Something like:
that we should have taken marijuana off our banned list some time ago, like in the previous century! It shouldn’t be there, plus it carries racial overtones.
Marijuana is a prohibited substance because, according to the USADA, it “can enhance performance, it poses a health risk to athletes, and its use violates the spirit of the sport.”
Enhance performance? Maybe, when icecream eating becomes an Olympic sport. There doesn’t seem to be a large body of science showing that weed gives you foot speed.
As noted pothead Seth Rogen tweeted Friday, “If weed made you fast, I’d be FloJo,” referring to legendary U.S. sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner.
Health risk? There is evidence that smoking anything is unhealthy. But tobacco is not banned. You know what widely used chemical substance does pose a health risk? Alcohol, which is on the WADA list of banned substances, but only for Olympic archers, and only during their competition. Get schnockered on Monday, compete on Tuesday, no problemo, although shooting arrows with a hangover might pose a health risk to spectators.
So why is marijuana banned, and not alcohol? We don’t know what WADA and USADA and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee were thinking with the weed ban, but it does leave the ruling bodies open to charges of racial insensitivity, at best. Smoking weed — where illegal — is a crime that is disproportionately enforced against Black people.
At the risk of using Seth Rogen as some kind of expert, the writer/actor did express what a lot of people are feeling when he tweeted, “The notion that weed is a problematic ‘drug’ is rooted in racism. It’s insane that Team USA would disqualify one of this country’s most talented athletes over thinking that’s rooted in hatred.”
An analysis last year by the American Civil Liberties Union concluded, “Black people are 3.64 times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession, notwithstanding comparable usage rates.”
A 2021 Legal Aid study in New York state found that people of color made up 94% of marijuana arrests by NYPD.
As for violating the spirit of the sport, what does that even mean? Littering violates the spirit of the sport, but you don’t get thrown out of the Olympics for littering.
Richardson’s case looks like a tragedy. She was a goldmedal contender in an event no American has won since Gail Devers in 1996 and had the look of someone about to light up the Olympics. The 5foot1 dynamo is a showstopper, with her speed and style — brightly dyed hair, long and bedazzled fingernails — and a gift for connecting with the spectators by sharing her spirit and exuberance.
However, what prevents her case from becoming a tragedy is that she refuses to let it. Richardson accepted her punishment, a onemonth ban that includes counseling, knocking her out of the 100 meters at Tokyo.
“This is just one Games,” the 21yearold Richardson said. “I have plenty of Games left in me to compete in . ... 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 antidoping agency to come and get what it is that they need.”
Another thing we might learn from this: Whether or not USA Track & Field has a heart. Richardson’s onemonth ban ends in time for her to run with the U.S. team in the 4x100meter relay in Tokyo on Aug. 5.
If USATF selects her for that relay, maybe we learning from Sha’Carri Richardson.