With the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo only weeks away, track and field fans everywhere were stunned to hear the news that U.S. sprinting star Sha'Carri Richardson has been suspended form the U.S. Olympic Team after testing positive for marijuana.
The one-month suspension means that Richardson will not compete in the games this summer.
And while the no-tolerance drug policy of the U.S. Olympic Team is cut and dry, plenty of people have found Richardson's suspension ridiculous.
For a good illustration, look no further than a recent tweet from comedian Seth Rogen, who's on-screen weed use has made him a kind of torch-bearer of for the drug.
The notion that weed is a problematic \u201cdrug\u201d is rooted in racism. It\u2019s insane that Team USA would disqualify one of this country\u2019s most talented athletes over thinking that\u2019s rooted in hatred. It\u2019s something they should be ashamed of. Also if weed made you fast, I\u2019d be FloJo.https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/1410937394036084740\u00a0\u2026— Seth Rogen (@Seth Rogen) 1625240708
"Flojo" refers to legendary American track and field athlete Florence Griffith Joyner, who's hailed as the fastest woman of all time. Her world records set for the 100m and 200m in 1988 are both still unbroken.
Now just picture Seth Rogen hauling down the red track at that fast of a clip.
Despite the snarky support of supporters like Rogen, Richardson herself has maintained a posture of grace and stoicism in the face of the devastating news.
In an appearance on the TODAY show, Richardson acknowledged reality, for better or worse.
"I want to take responsibility for my actions. I know what I did, I know what I'm supposed to do … and I still made that decision."
Richardson did, however, explain that her mother's recent passing, which occurred just before Olympic qualifying trials, was a massive burden to shoulder.
"People don't understand what it's like to have to … go in front of the world and put on a face and hide my pain."
"Who am I to tell you how to cope when you're dealing with the pain or you're dealing with a struggle that you haven't experienced before or that you thought you never would have to deal with?"
"So I apologize for the fact that I didn't know how to control my emotions or deal with my emotions. I greatly apologize if I let you guys down, and I did."
Twitter users who saw Rogen's supportive tweet were more than happy to chime in.
Let Sha\u2019Carri Run\n\n1. Marijuana should be legal\n\n2. Black and Brown Communities should be given grants to build marijuana businesses as reparations for the war on drugs \n\n3. Olympic athletes should consider boycotting if Sha\u2019Carri can\u2019t run— Sylvester Ani Jr. (@Sylvester Ani Jr.) 1625241755
And I\u2019m still rockin with ShaCarri Richardson like y\u2019all did when Michael Phelps TESTED POSITIVE— Coach Steph Brown (@Coach Steph Brown) 1625230916
Michael Phelps is the greatest Olympian of all time. But Sha'Carri Richardson isn't allowed to go to Tokyo. Got it.pic.twitter.com/JqYJQrIjOG— Alex Maloney (@Alex Maloney) 1625239538
Let Sha\u2019Carri Run\n\n1. Marijuana should be legal\n\n2. Black and Brown Communities should be given grants to build marijuana businesses as reparations for the war on drugs \n\n3. Olympic athletes should consider boycotting if Sha\u2019Carri can\u2019t run— Sylvester Ani Jr. (@Sylvester Ani Jr.) 1625241755
Media: Phelps is just a normal kid smoking pot\nAlso media: Richardson was old enough to know what she was doing.\nPhelps was 23\nRichardson 21.\nSmdh!— Julio Antonio \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddfa \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Julio Antonio \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddfa \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1625324926
If you find yourself today saying, \u201cSha\u2019Carri Richardson should have just followed the rules.\u201d but were silent when Michael Phelps was caught on camera ripping a bong maybe sit this one out.— Rex Chapman\ud83c\udfc7\ud83c\udffc (@Rex Chapman\ud83c\udfc7\ud83c\udffc) 1625261138
How many athletes/wrestlers get hooked on prescription pain killers when they could just use weed to moderate aches and pains?— Brandon Farmahini (@Brandon Farmahini) 1625241256
White twitter when michael Phelps got caught for weed vs now when it\u2019s sha'carri richardsonpic.twitter.com/dKvBlYadNc— jw (@jw) 1625191513
Good morning and Happy Friday to everyone except the Olympic Committee, for banning Sha'Carri Richardson for weed while Michael Phelps weed-coughs gold medals.— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@BrooklynDad_Defiant!) 1625234281
It's insane. What a bright, joyous spirit-- dimmed by archaic, nonsensical, racist rules. She would've been the ONLY reason to watch the track-and-field events. Definitely not watching now. @usatf @TeamUSA— Tom Welch (@Tom Welch) 1625241093
It does appear Richardson will not be able to compete in the 100m and 200m sprints in Tokyo, she will be able to join the 4x100 relay, which will occur after the 30th day of her ban.
With all the attention on Richardson stemming from the ban, we can expect plenty of buzz around that race.
