The International Olympic Committee is pushing back after sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson suggested the only reason she couldn't compete after a positive drug test but Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva can is because "I'm a Black young lady."
Richardson earlier this week asked for a "solid answer" about the difference between her case and that of Valieva, who was cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to compete at the Beijing Olympics despite a positive drug test. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Richardson was not able to compete after testing positive for marijuana and being suspended for one month. Richardson has said she smoked marijuana to deal with her mother's death.
"Can we get a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mines?" Richardson tweeted. "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."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport in its decision on Valieva cited "serious issues of untimely notification" of her drug test, which was taken on Dec. 25, but the results were not received until Feb. 8. Now, Mark Adams, a spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee, argues the two cases are not similar, pointing to the timing of the tests.
"You can't talk about double standards in relation to Russian and American athletes, each case is individual," Adams told The Guardian. "Richardson's positive doping test was discovered on June 19, and the result was received before the start of the Olympics. She was suspended for a month. There is nothing in common between these two cases."
The IOC previously announced there would be no medal ceremony during the Olympics for the women's single skating competition should Valieva finish in the top three. But Richardson on Twitter wrote, "Not one BLACK athlete has been about to compete with a case going on, I don't care what they say."
-
Should you add your child to your credit card?The Explainer You can make them an authorized user on your account in order to help them build credit
-
Cracker Barrel crackup: How the culture wars are upending corporate brandingIn the Spotlight Is it 'woke' to leave nostalgia behind?
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
