The dopey call to suspend Olympian
Many American sports fans have been aghast at the news that the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee has disqualified America’s fastest woman, Sha’Carri Richardson, from the women’s 100-meter dash at the Tokyo Games after she tested positive for marijuana. It’s so heartbreaking because she seemed destined for stardom.
The test invalidated her victorious sprint at the U.S. trackand-field finals in Oregon last month and led to a one-month suspension. That removes her from the 100-meter solo race, but she may be able to race on a relay event because it takes place after her suspension ends, as The New York Times reported. That’s a consolation, but the disqualification is dispiriting.
The World Anti-Doping Agency prohibits use of all cannabis substances, and bizarrely ranks them with heroin. U.S. Olympic officials follow that agency’s lead, so they had little choice. “The rules are the rules and everybody knows of the rules going in,” said Joe Biden. That makes us want to use the president’s common retort, “C’mon, man!”
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency argues that athletes who smoke cannabis are at risk of “slower reaction times.” It also says that cannabis “can be performance enhancing for some athletes.” Come on. No runner “enhances” her performance by using a substance that slows her down.
No one seriously believes marijuana is performance enhancing, unless one is entering an eating or sleeping competition. “WADA knows that banning marijuana is ridiculous,” argues Sports Illustrated’s Michael Rosenberg, noting the ban is one month — and “the minimum ban for a performance-enhancing drug is two years.”
Marijuana is legal in 19 states, including Oregon, where the trials took place. Richardson said she used cannabis after her mother’s death. One shouldn’t need a reason for using cannabis any more than one needs a reason for drinking wine, but we’re glad she reacted gracefully and professionally to the disappointment.
Nevertheless, the cannabis restriction is corrosive of legitimate efforts to stamp out real performance-enhancing drug abuse.
Anti-doping agencies should stick to their mission — i.e., preventing cheating — and change their dopey rules.