Written by Unfortunately, we will not see Sha’Carri Richardson compete in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics later this month. Richardson is the fastest female athlete in the United States and quite possibly the world. But she broke the rules.
You probably have heard of this already, as it has been all over the news. Richardson found out about the passing of her estranged birth mother just before she competed in the 100-meter dash at the U.S. Olympic trials last month. She turned to marijuana to help with the pain, and that choice has resulted in a 30-day suspension. As the event she qualified for occurs during her hiatus, she will not compete in it.
Furthermore, the U.S. team chose not to include Richardson in the 4×100-meter relay race. Thus, eliminating her opportunity to represent her country.
Reporters asked President Joe Biden for his response. He said he was very proud of how Richardson handled the news of her suspension. What he said next received a lot of attention. Biden said, “The rules are the rules.” That comment was spread widely on Twitter and received a lot of attention as it seemed insensitive.
However, there was more. Biden continued, “Whether they should remain the rules is a different issue, but the rules are the rules.”
I think most people would agree with Biden’s assessment, and I think most would agree that the rule needs to be changed. Most are probably surprised that marijuana is banned. I don’t think anyone believes it to be performance-enhancing. It is legal in many places, and bans have proven impossible to enforce.
Yes, Richardson chose to break the rules and can only blame herself for the consequences. When you consider her story, it is unfortunate. And, it’s an enormous shame that we cannot do a better job of enforcing and maintaining the rules.
Rules are necessary for our society, as they define acceptable behavior and provide standards. They provide instruction and guidelines. Sports need them to function. Without them, you have chaos.
Rules can either protect us or oppress us, depending on their intent. They provide cover to a corrupt status quo at their worst—those who control the rules control power. That may be what is at play with the Richardson suspension. The rationale for the continued ban of marijuana when many other sports organizations have allowed it include potential health risk to the athlete and violation of the “spirit of the sport.” The latter dates back to the beginning of drug testing sixties, likely a response to the threat of the counterculture movement during those times.
We give authority to officials in sporting events to interpret and regulate the games as they occur, a tremendous power to give to an individual. Humans make errors, and most agree that these errors are a part of the game. However, technology has evolved to improve the enforcement of the rules. Where implemented, we have seen better outcomes. However, it often takes a while to accept the change.
You see the impact of technology on full display this summer at many of the high-profile competitions. One of the first sports to embrace technology was Tennis. I remember watching John McEnroe constantly argue line calls with the referees at tournaments like Wimbledon. It was part of the entertainment of watching Tennis. McEnroe was usually right, but that didn’t matter. Now, calls are instantly validated or overturned. People were skeptical when at first, but now everyone realizes Hawk-Eye gets the calls right.
Video-Assisted Replay has been used extensively in this year’s Euro 2020 soccer tournament, resulting in an increased number of penalties. Still, most agree they are getting the calls right while making decisions quickly. A penalty kick in extra time determined yesterday’s semi-final match between Denmark and England. The foul that caused it was pretty minor but indeed a correct call. A “VAR Review” took place, and the people in Switzerland quickly confirmed the call.
This year’s NBA Playoffs have extensively used “official review” on flagrant fouls and calls late in the games. For the most part, it has been effective, and fans seem to like it. I enjoy how the officials interact directly with the league and clearly explain the camera’s call and rationale. One area of improvement is better differentiating when a player violates the spirit of a rule, not the strict letter of the law. There were several minor violations flagged while reviewing out-of-bounds calls. Hopefully, they can start using video review to prevent flopping. That would make a lot of people happy.
For some reason, Major League Baseball has had a much harder time implementing technology and video replay review than the other sports. They have been trying for several years. They do have a good challenge process, albeit unnecessary. If a play may need review, the manager holds up his hand while deciding whether they want to challenge. If they do, they hold both hands up to their ears, signaling they want the umpires to put on the headsets and talk to the team at league headquarters. Then they awkwardly stand there while we wait seemingly forever. They seem to make the right call most of the time. They lack the efficiency of the soccer VAR reviews and the transparency the NBA referees provide in describing the decisions.
Where they don’t make the call a lot of the time is on balls and strikes. The time has come to implement a Hawk-Eye system to determine whether a pitch is a strike to save us from the inconsistent calls of umpires like C.B. Bucknor. Last week, Bucknor made a mockery of the strike zone in a game between the Astros and the Orioles and impacted the game’s outcome. For some reason, the league likes to tinker with the rules for some things but refuses to embrace technology to enforce its most essential law.
Indeed, the rules are the rules. Let’s get them right and treat them with respect. The “spirit of the sport” is at stake.