Culture

Viewers Slam Olympics for “Racist and Sexist” Cannabis Hypocrisy


 

The Tokyo Olympics are officially underway, and many are expressing outrage over the promotion of CBD products after queer track star Sha’Carri Richardson was barred from competing for testing positive for THC, another chemical found in marijuana.

Following her much-celebrated June 19 victory in the Olympic trials, Richardson accepted a 30-day suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), disqualifying her from competing in the sport’s 100-meter dash event. Although her suspension expires on July 28 and she theoretically would have been allowed to return in time to compete in the 4×100 relay, USA Track & Field excluded her from its team, saying it had a responsibility to “maintain fairness for all of the athletes.”

Recreational marijuana is legal in Oregon, where Richardson said she used the drug to cope with both her biological mother’s death and the stress of preparing for trials.

“I was definitely triggered and blinded by emotions,” she said on the Today show. “I know I can’t hide myself, so in some type of way, I was trying to hide my pain.”

The 21-year-old sprinter’s 30-day suspension ends before the start of the Olympic relays on August 5, and she technically could’ve been eligible to win a medal as part of the 4×100 relay team. But USA Track and Field declined to offer her a spot on its roster.

Ironically, cannabis products have never been openly discussed at the Olympics as much as they have this year. Former gold medalist and U.S. Soccer Women’s National Team star Megan Rapinoe has been particularly open about incorporating CBD into her training regimen. She also promotes Mendi, a company co-founded by her sister Rachael Rapinoe, which sells hemp-derived cannabidiol products targeted at athletes. Other Summer Olympics competitors like WNBA player Sue Bird, softball outfielder Hayley McCleney, and hurdler Devon Allen, are also ambassadors for the company.

Japan’s strict anti-cannabis laws prevent the use of such products during the games themselves. But the fact that predominantly white athletes are promoting CBD products through paid brand deals while Richardson was banned from competing has sparked further conversation about racism at the Olympics.

“The Olympics is racist and sexist towards Black women,” critic and podcaster Carolyn Hinds wrote on Twitter. “They disqualified Sha’Carri Richardson for testing positive for marijuana, but have these two white women [the Rapinoes] promoting it and talking about using it to help them as athletes.”

Hinds wasn’t the only one who took issue with the Olympics’ hypocrisy. Several users responded to a July 21 Forbes article about Rapinoe’s CBD regimen, pointing to the evident disparity in how Olympic regulations have been applied to white and Black athletes.

Richardson is one of many Black athletes who have been barred from competing at this year’s Olympics due to restrictive policies.



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