The 'Sausage Party' actor is outraged after U.S. athlete Sha'Carri Richardson lost her place on Olympics team after testing positive for marijuana use.
- Jul 3, 2021
AceShowbiz - Actor and marijuana aficionado Seth Rogen is fuming after U.S. athlete Sha'Carri Richardson lost her place on the 2020 Olympics team due to a positive drug test for weed.
The 21-year-old track and field star was handed a 30-day suspension this week, and she has since admitted to turning to cannabis after learning about the death of her estranged mother from a reporter while she was in Oregon, where the drug is legal.
The test results mean Richardson, who was raised by her grandmother, will have to miss the Summer Games in Tokyo, Japan, which were postponed last year due to the coronavirus crisis.
"Don't judge me because I am human. I'm you. I just happen to run a little faster," the athlete said on U.S. breakfast show "Today" on Friday (02Jul21).
However, the decision by Team USA officials has sparked outrage as the drug is legal in many states, and is not a performance-enhancing substance.
Rogen was among those taking aim at team bosses, tweeting, "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. It's something they should be ashamed of."
"Also if weed made you fast, I'd be FloJo," he quipped, referencing the world's fastest woman, late 1980s Olympic icon Florence Joyner.
"Marijuana is NOT a performance enhancing drug," British-American freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy posted as former U.S. figure skater Adam Rippon wrote, "My heart is broken for @itskerrii. I think she is an amazing athlete and her personality is superstar level. Marijuana being a banned substance in competition seems... outdated???? And unfair (sic)."
