Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the latest athlete to voice support for American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson and called her absence from the U.S. Olympic relay team “ridiculous.”
Richardson, 21, was left of the United States’ Olympic team in the 4x100m relay on July 6, less than a week after her positive test for marijuana at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore was revealed. Richardson won the 100m final at the trials with a time of 10.86 seconds but that result is now void due to her positive test.
The United States Anti-Doping Agency announced Richardson accepted a one-month ban for her positive test, with the ban beginning on June 28. The USATF could have granted Richardson the opportunity to participate in Tokyo despite the positive test, but the organization declined.
“She put in the work. Even though she made a mistake, like we all make mistakes,” Mahomes said on ESPN’s First Take on Thursday. “To not let her be at the Olympics at all is pretty ridiculous to me.”
Richardson learned of her mother’s death during an interview ahead of the U.S. Olympic Trials in Oregon in June. She called the event “triggering” and “nerve-shocking.” She later ingested marijuana in Oregon.
USA Track and Field said the organization is “sympathetic” toward Richardson’s situation, adding it “will offer her our continued support both on and off the track.”
Richardson had the opportunity to be the United States’s first female 100m gold medalist since 1996 prior to her suspension. She won the 2019 NCAA title with a time of 10.75 seconds and ran a personal best of 10.72 seconds in April.
The Tokyo Olympics will begin on July 23. The Games are slated to end on Aug. 8.
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