Sha’Carri Richardson Regrets ‘Today’ Show Interview: ‘Wish I Never Did This’

Her Olympics moment was thwarted after drug tests found that she has THC in her system, and immediately, Sha’Carri Richardson was thrust into the limelight. The track star was poised for her Olympics takeover before being suspended over her drug tests, and networks were clamoring for an interview. Around this time last year, Richardson sat down for a virtual conversation with Today where she explained her personal background and the circumstances regarding her positive test.

via: New York Post

On Tuesday, Richardson quote tweeted a July 2021 interview with “Today Show” about the matter, and said she wishes she “never did this,” seemingly referring to the morning show appearance.

“I wish I had the choice when it was time for me to tell my story,” Richardson, 22, wrote. She didn’t divulge any other details.

Richardson was suspended from Team USA last July over a positive drug test for THC, the chemical in marijuana, which resulted in her being banned from competition at the Summer Games in Tokyo.

The star sprinter tested positive in Oregon, where recreational cannabis use and possession are legal. However, marijuana is considered a banned substance by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and USA Track and Field.

In the interview, Richardson told NBC’s Savannah Guthrie, “I know what I did. I know what I’m supposed to do … I still made that decision.”

Last Saturday, Richardson took aim at USADA, which is responsible for drug testing and education for Olympic athletes.

“Once again @usantidoping give(s) us all these rules but can not follow themselves,” Richardson tweeted. “Stop giving us rules that y’all can bend just to get more money. The ones behind the desk who probably [have] never been a high level athlete need to be held accountable at the same level as the athletes!”

Richardson then took to Instagram that day to call for “transparency” between the USADA and athletes.

“It’s sooo much more that these doping organizations don’t tell the public !!! Give the transparency to us that you force us as athletes to give to these organizations and the TO THE PUBLIC for better understanding !!!”

In February, Richardson called out the IOC’s decision to let teenage Russian skater Kamila Valieva participate in the Beijing Olympics after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

Valieva was cleared to compete after testing positive for the heart drug trimetazidine. The IOC said at the time that different rules apply to minors, making Valieva a “protected person.”

During the “Today Show” appearance last July, Richardson explained that her biological mother had died the week before her race, and that she used the substance after being “blinded by emotion, blinded by bad news, blinded by just hurting, hiding hurt honestly… I was just trying to hide my pain.”

Last week, Richardson participated in the NYC Grand Prix track meet and won the 200 meters while wearing fishnets. The victory came shortly after she finished second in the 100 meters earlier in the day.

Richardson is expected to compete at the USATF Outdoor Championships beginning June 23 in Eugene, Oregon.