Suns’ Chris Paul feels Sha’Carri Richardson ‘deserves her opportunity’
Jul 3, 2021, 3:56 PM | Updated: 3:56 pm
Sha'Carri Richardson celebrates after winning the women's 100-meter run at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials Saturday, June 19, 2021, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Suns point guard Chris Paul said the Sha’Carri Richardson situation has been on his mind and that it’s not right.
The 21-year-old Richardson recently qualified for the Olympics by winning the 100 at the US Olympic Trials in 10.86 seconds on June 19 but was banned from the competition for testing positive for THC, erasing her results.
“It’s not right for her to work her tail off the way that she has. You can’t tell someone how to deal with trauma or how to deal with mental health, whatever it may be. Marijuana is not a performance-enhancing drug,” Paul said on Saturday.
“One thing that is always going to be a constant is change. For her, and to see how much work she’s put in over these last few years and for me to be an Olympic athlete and to know what that means — it’s not right.”
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Richardson accepted a 30-day suspension that ends July 27, which would be in time to run in the women’s relays. USA Track and Field has not disclosed plans for the relay.
The sprinter was expected to face Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in one of the most highly anticipated races of the Olympic track meet.
“I’ll worry about the Finals when it gets to it but the Olympics is one of those things that comes around once every 4 years and I feel like she deserves her opportunity,” Paul said.
Paul won Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012, representing Team USA.
He went on to say that marijuana is not a performance-enhancing drug and reflected on his time with the NBA Player’s Association on changing drug testing policies across professional sports.
“It’s a messed up situation,” Paul said. “The powers that be, whoever it is, they gotta understand that change is inevitable.
“And to be a part of the union and with this league and to see how we’ve changed the way things work and the way things operate, yeah, that’s not right.”
Paul was then asked if he’s spoken with her.
“Haven’t yet. I wanted to. She went to LSU. You can just see when she speaks how genuine she is and how much she loves what she does and there’s a spirit about her that’s just contagious. You have no choice but to root for her.”
The Olympics begin on July 23 with Track and Field events beginning on July 30.
