The Summer Olympics haven’t even started and they’re already a mess.
First, star sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, 21, was suspended by U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. That means she won’t be able to run the 100 meters at the Tokyo Olympics later this month.
Her crime:
On Friday, she told TODAY that she smoked to cope with learning from a reporter that her biological mother had died, and to deal with the pressure of trying to qualify for her first Olympics.
In case you have never smoked marijuana, it does not help you run faster. For athletes, it’s a much safer alternative for treating intense physical pain than, say, opioids. Major sports leagues in the United States — including the NBA, NFL, Major League Baseball, and the NHL — have stopped banning players for using it.
Another fun fact: Olympic athletes are allowed to drink alcohol, as evidenced by the fact that the Olympic Village nearly always
It makes sense to ban smoking weed during competition, just like it makes sense to ban drinking alcohol. Nobody wants to see a sloshed athlete throw a javelin. But Richardson was punished for smoking out of competition.
Why would an athlete be punished for doing that? The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency answers that question
The
The paper also says “use of illicit drugs” isn’t “consistent with the athlete as a role model for young people around the world.” That Richardson is Black and paying the cost for the stigma around marijuana is, sadly, not shocking. As my colleague
People were, justifiably, incredulous and outraged over the ban on Twitter.
The Onion, as always, summed up the situation perfectly.
But wait… there’s more. The International Swimming Federation recently announced that swimming caps designed for natural Black hair
Per the
The decision means swimming caps from
The Black Swimming Association
And finally, it was announced Friday that two female athletes from Namibia, Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi, won’t be able to run the 400 meters at the Olympics because of
Before this week, the Tokyo Olympics were already marred by accusations of