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Sha'Carri Richardson left off U.S. Olympic relay team after positive marijuana test

06 July 2021
Dan Ackermann

Sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson, who was suspended last week for a positive marijuana test, was left off the U.S relay team and won't compete in this year's Olympics, USA Track & Field said Tuesday.

Why it matters: While Richardson had accepted a one-month suspension, there was still a chance she could return in time to race in the women's 4x400-meter relay in Tokyo on Aug. 6. But USATF declined to add her to the team, saying it wouldn't be fair to the other athletes.

What they're saying: “While USATF fully agrees that the merit of the World Anti-Doping Agency rules related to THC should be reevaluated, it would be detrimental to the integrity of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Track & Field if USATF amended its policies following competition, only weeks before the Olympic Games,” USATF said in a statement Tuesday. 

  • "So while our heartfelt understanding lies with Sha’Carri, we must also maintain fairness for all of the athletes who attempted to realize their dreams by securing a place on the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team."

Richardson said last week she had been coping with her mother's death, as well as the pressure of participating in the trials, which led her to a state of "emotional panic."

  • "Don't judge me, because I am human. ... I just happen to run a little faster," she added.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.