You turn to us for voices you won't hear anywhere else.

Sign up for Democracy Now!'s Daily Digest to get our latest headlines and stories delivered to your inbox every day.

Track Star Sha’Carri Richardson Suspended Ahead of Olympics over Positive Marijuana Test

HeadlineJul 06, 2021

In sports news, outcry is mounting over the suspension of U.S. Olympic sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson after she tested positive for marijuana, which is legal in 18 U.S. states, including Oregon, where Richardson won the 100-meter race at the U.S. track and field trials last month. She has been a gold-medal favorite ahead of the Tokyo Olympics this summer. Cannabis is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances — even though medical research shows it has no performance-enhancing effects.

This comes as the International Swimming Federation is facing backlash for banning the use of swimming caps at the Tokyo Olympics designed for natural Black hair, saying the caps do not “fit the natural form of the head.” The caps are made by the Black-owned British brand Soul Cap.

Meanwhile, Republican Congressmembers Dan Crenshaw of Texas and Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton are calling for U.S. Olympic hammer thrower Gwen Berry to be banned from the Tokyo Olympics, following Berry’s peaceful protest at an Olympic trials medal ceremony last week, where she turned away from the U.S. flag during the national anthem. 

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top