Olympic Athlete Claims To See Racial Bias

By Mimi Lebeau ‘24
African American Olympic sprinter, Sha'Carri Richardson accused the Olympics of being racially biased after she was suspended from participating in the 2021 summer Olympics for using cannabis while young Russian ice skater Kamila Valieva was allowed to compete in the 2022 winter Olympics after testing positive for using performance enhancing drugs. 

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After the Olympics revealed that Valieva would be competing in the winter olympics, Richardson tweeted: “Can we get a solid answer on the difference between her situation and mines?...The only difference I see is I’m a black young lady.”
Richardson used THC to cope with her mother’s death in June 2021, failing a standard Olympic drug test later that month. Accordingly, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) promptly suspended Richardson from competing in the 2021 summer Olympics.
Six months later, when fifteen year old Valieva tested positive for using the fat-burning heart medication trimetazidine in December 2021, she was issued only a temporary suspension from the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), allowing her to compete in the 2022 winter Olympics. 
Valieva also received minimal penalties from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). For example, there would be no medal ceremony if she placed in the top three, a relatively small price to pay compared to Richardson’s complete ban from participating. 
Sophomore Agam Rejwan remarked, “I am floored by the racial double standard that is evident in the comparison between the athletes' cases.”
While Richardson was quick to blame racial biases, Richard Pound, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) offered other disparities between the athletes' circumstances. 
Pound explained, “Certainly, in the Olympics, there’s not a racial bias in anything that we do. I think the key for the Russian (Valieva) is that she’s a minor.” However, WADA had disputed the insubstantiality of Valieva’s charges, yet were overruled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), allowing her to remain in the Olympic games.
According to WADA policy, minors are considered “protected persons” and are therefore subject to more mild sanctions and lower standards. That said, this reasoning fails to explain why the CAS would drop all charges against Valieva, as CAS has no similar policy. 
Sophomore Talia Perlstein said, “It is concerning that Valieva faced virtually no punishments for her actions,  while Sha’Carri Richardson was prevented from competing in the Olympics altogether. Regardless of any other factors, there is a clear double standard.”
Since Valieva was permitted to compete, the Olympics has faced tremendous public backlash. News reporter Christine Brennan remarked that Valieva’s participation in the Olympic games, “is just a slap in the face to all of those athletes doing it the right way.” 
Valieva’s recent accomplishments further evidence that her usage of trimetazidine was unfair and should have been taken far more seriously. Not only did the fifteen year old earn a gold medal against far more experienced competitors, she became the first person to land a quadruple jump, a stunt ice skaters have been attempting for years. 
Maurijuana, however, has not been seen to have any performance boosting effects, further calling into question why Richardson was suspended and Valieva was not. In recent years, many sporting associations have been loosening or removing sanctions on marijuana as it is not shown to have a significant impact on athletic performance.
The attention Richardson’s case generated has been helping to propel the movement for less strict marijuana rules. Richardson stated that she would be “blessed and proud” if her situation could help change the policies for other athletes in the future.  
The National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) already loosened sanctions on athletes’ marijuana usage, and in February 2021 the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced that they would be removing their policy that players can be suspended from games for marijuana use. 
Sophomore Doron Finkel said, “It is inspiring that even despite Richardson’s circumstance, she is still fighting for change to help athletes in a way that she deems fit.”
While there is no way to tell whether the decisions were made with racism in mind,, it is evident that Richardson’s story is spreading awareness for discrimination and biases everywhere.