Over a half million people have signed a petition demanding Sha’Carri Richardson’s reinstatement to the United States Olympic team.
The irony is rich with Sha’Carri Richardson’s expulsion from the team when considering who else will be participating in the Olympics.
She was removed from the team after testing found traces of marijuana in her system.
Sha’Carri used it after learning of the death of her biological mother. The sprinter blew away the competition in her race. She had a decisive first place finish.
And, she acknowledged what she did:
I am human
— Sha’Carri Richardson (@itsshacarri) July 1, 2021
Take a look at the race:
Biological Male On Female Team
The United States will have Chelsea Wolfe, a biological male, as an alternate to to the Women’s BMX Freestyle event.
Wolfe dreams of burning the flag on the podium as the National Anthem plays. Wolfe wants to desecrate the flag of the country she is representing. Still Wolfe remains on the team’s roster.
Yet Richardson, who is clearly a female, has been sidelined because she smoked a joint after the death of her biological mother.
Sha’Carri Richardson had already qualified for the team on June 19. She tested positive for marijuana after that date. She was subsequently suspended for 30 days which means she wouldn’t be able to run in the 100-meter individual race in the Games, which start July 23.
However, there was the possibility that she could run with th3 4×100 relay team, but she was not listed on the roster for that race.
Marijuana isn’t even used as a performance enhancing drug, yet it is banned because it poses a health risk to the athletes. And, it apparently violates the spirit of the sport. Meanwhile, alcohol is not a banned substance.
#1 You already won! You’re the fastest woman on earth right now. We’re almost as proud of you as your beloved Grandmother is! She tops everyone of us!
Strange that they allow pain pills for strains and aches, allowed a team doctor to molest athletes, but bans a healing plant. pic.twitter.com/oPGO2bwXvD
— EmptyWorld (@EmptyWorld0722) July 4, 2021
RELATED: Transgender Athlete Chelsea Wolfe Says Goal Is To ‘Burn a US Flag’ at Olympic Podium
Today, the use of marijuana is legal in a number of states. Still, USA Track and Field has not budged.
Some professional sports have shifted away from the stringent policy of marijuana being an immediate disqualifier, but the Olympic team is holding firm.
Petition For Sh’Carri Richardson
The petition on MoveOn.org to reinstate Sha’Carri Richardson to the team takes aim at the fact that women of color are disproportionally affected by this stringent policy and her one-month ban from running.
“The imposition of a penalty against a world-class Black, queer, woman athlete is powerfully and infuriatingly reminiscent of the way drug laws are regularly applied in the United States,” the petition reads. “Recreational marijuana use has been de facto legal for upper-middle-class white people for years—something more states are recognizing as they legalize marijuana for all people and consider how to repair the damage done to Black and brown communities by decades of the ‘war on drugs.’”
“The world is coming together for a Summer Olympics postponed by a global pandemic, and we deserve to see the best athletes in fair, open competition. That includes Sha’Carri Richardson, whose one-month penalty is excessively punitive for an irrational, outdated rule,” it concludes. “Let Sha’Carri run!”
USA Track and Field has acknowledged that it is time to reevaluate marijuana being on its banned substance list. As of now, there are no plans to do this in favor of Shar’Carri Richardson.
There are others who fully support the rules, such three-time Olympic gold medalist Dominique Dawes who said “rules are rules.”
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