Sha’Carri Richardson lost, so did fans
Sha’Carri Richardson was instant box-office. The 20-year old sprinter’s time of 10.72 at the Miramar invitational qualifier was already 6th fastest all-time among women. The historic performance made her one of the most recognizable athletes going into the Olympics, riding a tidal wave of expectations into celebrity. Unfortunately, since this record-setting performance, her image has become much more controversial. A very public, embarrassing suspension for the use of marijuana disqualified her from the Olympics. Richardson returned to racing at the Prefontaine Classic last week, finishing in last place.
I posted a story covering the entire weed suspension saga for The Bull & Bear earlier this summer. As a result, found myself more invested in Richardson’s success and story than I ever intended to be. The title of that piece, “Sha’Carri Richardson’s Weed Suspension Benefits Nobody,” is reflective of my growing sense of identification. To see that she finished last in this race was, on a personal level, very disappointing. It can be tough to see an athlete you believe in lay an egg. Yet, this feeling only came from reading headlines and skimming the first paragraphs of a few articles, as I’m sure is the common level of engagement. I was unsure how such a thing could even happen, so I made the journalistic sacrifice of actually watching the entire 12-second long affair. In fact, I watched it nine times, once for each racer. I came away from this intense 2-minute film session with a renewed but redirected sense of disappointment. I felt a deep sense of dissonance between the story in reports and as I had seen it play out during the race. Elaine Thompson-Herah, the actual winner of this race, set a record-shattering time of 10.54. This absurd time trails only Florence Griffith-Joyner, who leads the category with a time of 10.49 in 1988. Thompson-Herah continues to dominate after securing the gold medal in the 100-meter dash in Tokyo last month. In fact, the Jamaican team dominated in those Olympics, and in the Classic. Fellow Jamaican sprinters Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price and Shericka Jackson also placed in this race. You may not have even been aware that this happened, or that the Jamaican team was this formidable.
Sports media, as with all forms of reporting, thrives off of conflict and drama. This even applies when no such conflict exists, or is worth focusing on. As a member of the medium, even in my small way, I cannot act as though I am insusceptible to these manners of perception. The sausage gets made this way because of how effectively it works, not because media members have a moral deficiency of some sort. That said, a sense of discretion needs to regulate the usage of negative framing in this medium. News publications framed this story around Richardson while ignoring Thompson-Herah altogether. Of course, most casual observers expect this type of celebrity-focused coverage. I would not have gone out of my way to hear details of this story had it not included Sha’Carri Richardson — I suspect the same is true of many people. Surely though, something has gone wrong in a situation where media can only sell sports to people through the lens of their own spite. For Sha’Carri, the disappointment of the race is intense. That does not mean disappointment should be the theme of this race. Watch the clip of Thompson-Herah seeing that she’s PR’d. She explodes with this incredible joy, the type of happiness that is only won through years of dedication, and failures pushed past. Watching sports is an experience of the journey between these two points, the nadir and the pinnacle of accomplishment. Both of these points are essential but are not equal in weight or significance, at least in need of coverage. This was Thompson-Herah’s well-earned time, not Richardson’s.
To focus on the under-performance of Richardson in this event is a decision that the media is making. I believe that reproduces a flawed perspective on sports, which is needlessly harsh. Marketing sports should not be dependent on schadenfreude. Sports media should cover stories in a way that is less partial, more objective, and less spiteful.
