I’m not really a sports fan. I was almost a fan, for a while. Mostly, the idea of being a sports fan was appealing, but there were too many numbers, it went way beyond wins and losses. And every year, in every sport, they added more statistics, as if the world of athletics were being run by evil, cruel accountants. It was math homework all over again.
Then I started noticing some very bad numbers, coaches’ salaries, ticket prices, licensed team gear. It made the renaissance popes look miserly. How many people could be helped by giving some of that to the poor? Coaches could still make a comfortable living and we could solve some of our most persistent and vexing problems.
It wasn’t long before people quit asking me, “Hey, did you watch the game last night?” This was fine with me, because I didn’t even know there was a game.
Recently an athlete made the news because she smoked a little weed and wasn’t going to be allowed to run in the Olympics. Her name was Sha’Carri Richardson, and the picture showed a head of golden hair, eye lashes inches long, a smile that had to be measured in lumens, and the hand pointing to the crowd had long, really long, painted fingernails. I’m not a sports fan, but it was hard to connect all the displays of blatant femininity with a world class sprinter.
Out of curiosity I went and checked out some of her races. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
I watched the race where Ms. Richardson qualified for the Olympics. Her hair was bright red, and she got out of the blocks a little slowly, which is to say about the same speed as the other racers. After that it was a blur of arms and legs and red hair flowing behind her. The bright red hair gave her the appearance of running so fast she was trailing flames, an orbital re-entry.
But, she was sidelined for smoking a joint. What we, in our juvenile attempt at royal humor, called the “ceremonial passing of the herb.”
I don’t know much about the Olympics, I don’t watch them. I know even less about women’s track and field. Honestly I would have never heard of Sha’Carri Richardson (I read it’s pronounced Sha Kerry) if she hadn’t run afoul of the United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA), but, she did and I can tell you she deserves better.
It is obvious looking at her she is a world class athlete. She is chiseled muscle from her shoulders to her ankles. There is no doubt that she has sacrificed a large portion of her life to reach the heights few will ever know. Ms. Richardson probably walks faster than most of us can run.
She took responsibility for her actions, apologized for the mistake and talked about the recent, painful loss of her mother.
“I’m just like everybody else, I just run a little faster.” She said. Indeed.
It reminded me of an old saying, I can’t remember who it referenced. To paraphrase, though, Sha’Carri Richardson is just like everybody else, only more so. And, she could be a poster girl for a new movement toward common sense.
I was a member of NORML (the National Organization for the Repeal of Marijuana Laws) years ago, I dropped out because… I don’t really remember why. It might be time to see if they are still around, and renew my membership, even though I don’t partake anymore.
Once, long ago, we were walking down the street in a small town in Nebraska when a friend pulled out a joint and lit it up.
“Are you crazy?” I asked him.
“It’s the 1980s, it’s cool.” He replied, passing it to me. In for a penny in for a pound, so I joined him.
Now it’s almost 40 years later and we are watching the same stupidity play out.
Yes, it is the rules, I understand. But, it’s a stupid rule, and the law is stupid. I think how many lives have been ruined by alcohol, I am no stranger to drinking, and imagine how different things would have been if we had made pot legal, and banned liquor.
Yes, I know they tried banning alcohol and it didn’t work out very well. But, the war on drugs has been a disaster. And it has a new victim. The amazingly fast, wonderfully effervescent Sha’Carri Richardson.
I think some congress person, or senator needs to write the Sha’Carri Richardson Make Pot Legal legislation. It is time we recognize past mistakes are still hurting people today. Her sacrifice could benefit so many.
Maybe we need Sha Carri Richardson for Congress, Just Like Other Politicians Only More So.
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