After successfully winning gold at the 2023 World Athletics Championship, runner Sha’Carri Richardson, never an athlete without drama, made waves in the media after seeming to single out a black reporter to discuss her career milestone.
Sha’carri Richardson via belo sports YouTube
On the third day of the world championships, Richardson won with a time of 10.65s, followed by Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
After her win, Richardson selectively spoke to a black journalist, ignoring other media members, as highlighted by a video on X (formerly known as Twitter), in which she can be seen saying “No, thank you!” to other reporters.
Watch below:
"No, thank you!" 😳
Sha'Carri didn't stop to talk to ANY of the media, saying, "No, thank you!" She ONLY stopped to talk to these black journalists! 😬#NoThankYou #ShaCarri pic.twitter.com/9MEI9myLUP
— Unconventional Voices of Track & Field (@VoicesofTnF) August 21, 2023
Richardson’s relationship with the media has always been… tense. We don’t know if she was intentionally trying to blow off white reporters or just mainstream media outlets, but the reporter she did choose seems intentional. It reminded me of when former Mayor Lori Lightfoot caused nationwide controversy when she stated she would only grant interviews to “reporters of color.”
Richardson did after all speak to one white reporter later, Eddie Pells from the Associate Press.
It was only a year ago when she went viral after she failed to clear the women’s 100m at the U.S. Track and Field Championship and had a meltdown.
Sha’Carri returns to the media to make a statement… pic.twitter.com/bJ4yVtR3Is
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) June 26, 2022
“What I have to say – y’all can all take this interview and do whatever you want to do with it,” said Richardson. “I’m coming to speak not on just my behalf but all athletes’ behalf.”
“That when you guys do interviews, y’all should respect athletes more,” Richardson continued. “Y’all should understand them coming from whether they’re winning, whether they’re losing, whatever the case may be… athletes deserve way more respect than when y’all just come and throw cameras into their faces.
“Understand how an athlete operates and then ask your questions. Then be more understanding of the fact that they are still human, … Y’all just trying to get something to put out an article to make a dollar. Thank you.”
One thing does seem certain: Richardson certainly isn’t a fan of the media in general.
NEXT: Sha’Carri Richardson’s Strange Response After Failing To Qualify For World Championships