Think it’s ridiculous that track star Sha’Carri Richardson was suspended for testing positive for THC? You’re in good company.
The 21-year-old was poised to enter the forthcoming Tokyo Olympics after winning the 100-meter Olympic-qualifying trial race in Eugene, Oregon. Due to her test result, she’s now accepted a one-month suspension starting June 28, and her win at the trials is retroactively scratched. While Richardson is unable to compete at the Olympics as an individual, she could still take part in a relay.
When she appeared on the Today show on Friday, she apologized to her fans and sponsors and added, “I’m human.” Marijuana is legal in the state of Oregon. Moreover, Richardson used the substance after learning about her biological mother’s death from a reporter, she said.
The injustice of Richardson’s situation quickly became a trending topic.
Actor and marijuana businessman Seth Rogen pointed out what many saw as obvious: This is not a performance-enhancing drug. “If weed made you fast, I’d be FloJo,” he tweeted, adding that anti-cannabis sentiment is rooted in racism.
Senator from New Jersey Cory Booker called the suspension “devastating and wrong” and advocated for the legalization of marijuana across the country.
Olympic skater Adam Rippon said Richarson is “an amazing athlete” and remarked that “her personality is superstar level.”
Soccer champ Megan Rapinoe called the ordeal “trash” and said she was standing with Richardson.
Hip hop artist A$AP Twelvyy also voiced support.
New York congressman Jamaal Bowman called the ruling “archaic.”
And Cameron Winklevoss—who, as a fictionalized Mark Zuckerberg put it in The Social Network, would have been the inventor of Facebook if he invented Facebook—equated THC to ibuprofen.
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