On the reason why the sprinter is disqualified from the competition, the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team says in a statement that it must 'maintain fairness' for other athletes.
- July 7, 2021
AceShowbiz - Sha'Carri Richardson has broken her silence in the wake of her disqualification from the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team. Upon learning that she was left off from the relay list, the sprinter took to social media to offer her two cents.
"Athletes that haven't and will never beat me have a lot to say about or surround my situation," the 21-year-old penned on Twitter on Tuesday, July 7. "When most of them have said nothing to me showing their characters that y'all don't see behind the races."
Sha'Carri also appeared to have responded to Gabby Thomas' tweet, in which the latter expressed her disappointment for the lack of support due to Sha'Carri's fallout. Sha'Carri's wrote, "The attention that is on track now and was because of very very few names. So if that's where fans support lay, you can't be mad at that."
As for Gabby's original post, it read, "It really hurts to see so many black people choosing not to watch the Olympics this year." It added, "There are so many black athletes who have put in YEARS of hard work for this moment- myself included. We want your support."
The tweets came after USATF announced its roster without Sha'Carri's name on it. In a released statement, it declared, "All USATF athletes are equally aware of and must adhere to the current anti-doping code, and our credibility as the National Governing Body would be lost if rules were only enforced under certain circumstances."
"Our heartfelt understanding lies with Sha'Carri," the message further read. "[But] we must also maintain fairness for all of the athletes who attempted to realize their dreams by securing a place on the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team."
About how Sha'Carri was taking the news, her agent Renaldo Nehemiah said, "We haven't spoken about it at all. It was actually not a topic we focused on."
Sha'Carri has been handed a 30-day suspension for a positive marijuana test. The suspension itself will end before the start of the relays on August 5. It means she could have still competed in the 4x100 relay event for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics. Unfortunately, the team decided to not give her a spot.
