Sha’Carri Richardson suggests racial bias the main factor over CAS’s decision to let Valieva skate

American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson took to social media to question the difference between her doping ban from the Tokyo 2020 Games, and Kamila Valieva’s situation, but she’s pretty sure she knows the answer.

Shortly after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled on Monday 15-year-old Russian Olympic Committee figure skater Kamila Valieva will be allowed to continue to skate in the Beijing Games despite a positive drug test, Richardson took to Twitter to question the decision.

“Can we get a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mine?” Richardson tweeted. “My mother died and I can’t run and was also favored to place top 3.”

“The only difference I see is I’m a black young lady.”

Richardson tested positive for cannabis in July 2021 and was banned for one month, which meant she was disqualified from the 100m race at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. She was one of the medal favorites entering the Tokyo Games.

To her credit, Richardson admitted she took the drug to deal with anxiety and stress over her mother’s recent death.

“I want to take responsibility for my actions,” Richardson told NBC after she was disqualified. “I know what I did, I know what I’m supposed to do, what I’m allowed not to do, and I still made that decision.”

Richardson also pointed out on Twitter that Valieva took a performance-enhancing drug while she did not.

“THC definitely is not a performance enhancer!” she tweeted. “My results were posted within a week and my name & my talent was slaughtered to the people. It’s all in the skin.”

Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned heart medication which increases blood flow to the heart and is not legal in the United States, back in December. The result of the test was not known until last week.