When an athlete gets famous, it is expected that they will conform to societal norms and become a new person; the real them only exists to their friends and family.
We see this often with childhood stars who are molded to ‘perfection’ by their parents and producers to maximize profits. It often feels like a slap in the face when they finally awake from their fever dreams, but to them, it feels like the most freeing choice they could’ve made. These margins are much stricter in athletes, due to rigid regulations to perform and sponsors. Athletes don’t always have the same choice, and in instances where they have done the same, they face public shame from critics and peers.
Track star Sha’Carri Richardson is no stranger to criticism of her behavior and appearance but doesn’t let others negative perceptions of her dim her light or talent.
As a freshman at Louisiana State University, Sha’Carri won her first and only NCAA title after setting a new collegiate record for the 100-meter dash. Soon after this accomplishment, she set sights on running professionally and withdrew from the university.
In June 2021, Sha’Carri qualified to run the 100-meter race for the (delayed) 2020 Tokyo Olympics. After her win in the U.S. Team Trials, she was a favorite to take home gold. This excitement was short lived due to results stating she tested positive for marijuana use – and this is where the criticism really begins. In multiple interviews, Sha’Carri took complete responsibility for her actions and didn’t ask for sympathy. She explained that the use came from finding out her biological mother died (she was raised by her grandmother), and explained she felt very shaken up and confused with how to control her emotions. Even after her countless apologies and explanations, she was criticized. People called her reckless and irresponsible, and she handled the criticism head-on, not wavering in her own confidence.
She fell out of good grace with the public and her comeback to earning the recognition she deserves was slow. She missed the 2022 World Athletics Championships due to disappointing losses in August 2021 and June 2022.
At the USATF outdoor Championships in June 2023, Sha’Carri won the 100-meter race with a time of 10.82 seconds. At the World Athletics Championships just a few months later, she set a championship time of 10.65 seconds in the 100-meter race, third place in the 200-meter race, and was the anchor leg for the 4×100-meter relay for yet another first-place win. She earned the title fastest woman in the world for her time in the 100-meter and a place on the Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list.
Sha’Carri earned her place on the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team in June 2024 by winning the 100-meter in 10.71 seconds and became the favorite to win the gold medal at the Olympic races. She also raced in the 200-meter race but nearly missed the cut off.
During the Olympics, Sha’Carri won second place in the 100-meter race, just 0.15 seconds behind St. Lucia’s Julien Alfred and the gold medal. In the 4×100-meter relay race, Sha’Carri and the rest of the relay team won the gold – her first gold Olympic medal.
Sha’Carri is sponsored by Nike, and loves to wear long nails, fun wigs, long eyelashes, and makeup during her races. She wants others to be confident in their own skin, saying “I really just wanted people to know that you can be yourself. That means you wanna be sexy, you wanna be cute, you wanna express yourself in ways that nobody has before? Don’t let that stop you,” in an interview to NBC in 2022.
Sha’Carri Richardson dealt with backlash from breaking this unwritten contract, we ourselves often struggle with similar problems. While fame may not be the culprit for us, it may instead present itself as change, unfamiliarity with one’s environment, or anxiety. These things may attempt to push us and mold us into people who we are not, but just as Sha’Carri Richardson did, we must be who we are – not who we are told.