The sports world was sent into a frenzy when news broke of Sha’Carri Richardson‘s suspension following her testing positive for marijuana shortly after qualifying for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and learning about the passing of her biological mother. On June 19, the Dallas native won the women’s 100-meter race at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon, with a time of 10.86 seconds.
According to the TODAY Show, “a U.S. Olympic source told NBC News that Richardson failed the test after her win, testing positive for THC.” While the 21-year-old track star was placed on a one-month suspension as a consequence of the failed drug test, Richardson exclusively spoke with TODAY Show correspondent Savannah Guthrie about her thoughts following her test results.
“I want to take responsibility for my actions,” Richardson said on TODAY. “I know what I did, I know what I’m supposed to do and I still made that decision.”
Richardson continued, “[I’m)] not making an excuse or looking for any empathy in my case, but, however, being in that position in my life, finding out something like that, something that I would say is probably one of the biggest things that have impacted me; that definitely was a very heavy topic on me.”
Yesterday she tweeted “I am human” following the breaking news of her possible suspension.
“The rules are clear, but this is heartbreaking on many levels; hopefully, her acceptance of responsibility and apology will be an important example to us all that we can successfully overcome our regrettable decisions, despite the costly consequences of this one to her,” USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart said in a statement to NBC. According to TODAY, Richardson officially accepted her one-month suspension on Friday from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for an anti-doping rule violation.
“I apologize. As much as I’m disappointed, I know that when I step on the track, I don’t represent myself,” she continued on TODAY. “I represent a community that has shown me great support, great love, and I failed you all. So I apologize for the fact that I didn’t know how to control my emotions or deal with my emotions. I greatly apologize if I let you guys down, and I did.”
Richardson concluded: “Don’t judge me because I am human. I’m you, I just happen to run a little faster.”