Sha’Carri Richardson has a big problem with a decision made during the Winter Olympics. The 21-year-old track star took to Twitter to blast the decision of allowing Russian skate Kamila Valieva to compete in the games, despite receiving a positive drug test. Valieva reportedly tested positive for the banned substance Trimetazidine, a heart medication, in December.
“Can we get a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mines [sic]? My mother died and I can’t run and was also favored to place top 3. The only difference I see is I’m a black young lady,” Richardson tweeted as she was responding to a news article. In a separate tweet, Richardson wrote, “It’s all in the skin.” She then said, “Btw THC definitely is not a performance enhance!!!!!” She continued, tweeting, “Failed in December and the world just now know however my result was posted within a week and my name & talent was slaughtered to the people.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Richardson won the women’s 100m race at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials last Summer and qualified for the Olympics and Tokyo. She lost her spot on the team after testing positive for THC following the trials. She couldn’t compete in the Olympics and was suspended by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
On Monday, the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) said that Valieva, 15, can compete in the short program of the women’s staking competition, stating she is a “protective person” (a minor) under the World Anti-Doping Code. “The panel considered that preventing the athlete to compete at the Olympic Games would cause her irreparable harm in the circumstances,” CAS Director General Matthieu Reeb said in a statement.
Sara Hirshland, the CEO of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee responded to the Valieva news. “We are disappointed by the message this decision sends,” Hirshland said. “It is the collective responsibility of the entire Olympic community to protect the integrity of sports and to hold our athletes, coaches and all involved to the highest of standards,”
American skater Mariah Bell also weighed in on the situation. “It’s obviously a very touchy subject,” Bell said, per ESPN. “I can only speak for myself, but I advocate for clean sport. I think that is the whole idea of the Olympics and our careers in general. I know for me, I can come here in the midst of all of this, but I am really proud of my career.”
