Hi, John—

As of just a few moments ago, more than 390,000 MoveOn members had signed
on to demand that the USADA remove world-class runner Sha'Carri
Richardson's suspension and that the IOC and USADA revisit the outdated
rules around marijuana and athletes. [ [link removed] ]Will you sign the petition?

Elite Black women Olympic athletes undergo exceptional levels of scrutiny,
from Simone Biles' recent record-breaking double pike vault which received
artificially suppressed scores despite its difficulty^1 to Christine Mboma
and Beatrice Masilingi, two Namibian runners who won't be permitted to run
in their main events because of their naturally high testosterone
levels.^2 And just two days ago, we learned the Olympics decided to ban
swim caps designed for the hair of Black swimmers, a blatant move to
target Black athletes.^3

In Sha'Carri Richardson's case, the imposition of a penalty against her is
a reminder of the racist application of the patchwork of legalization laws
in the United States. Black people are criminalized, while white people
profit off the burgeoning cannabis industry. 

Even International Olympic Committee member and a founder of the World
Anti-Doping Agency Dick Pound thinks this marijuana ban needs to go,
saying, "One of these days, we should probably either take it off the list
entirely or say it’s there but the minimum sanction should be something
like a warning, so you’re not losing any period of eligibility."^4 So why
is it being enforced now?

So many incredible celebrities and influencers are helping to get the word
out to build massive support for Sha'Carri, like "Love & Hip Hop" host
Claudia Jordan, actor Rosanna Arquette, and Olympic medalist Dominique
Blake.

[ [link removed] ]Will you add your name?

–Isbah

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[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition: Let Sha'Carri run!

Dear MoveOn member,

Sha’Carri Richardson is one of the fastest athletes in the world—and would
have a real chance of winning the 100-meter sprint in the Summer Olympics
this month for the United States.

However, due to an outdated and arbitrarily enforced rule around
marijuana, she's now going to be kept from competing on the world stage.

In no world is marijuana a performance-enhancing drug for runners, and in
more places in the United States and around the world, marijuana use is
legal. The United States Anti-Doping Agency should drop their penalty and
allow Richardson to compete!

Reinstate Sha'Carri Richardson and allow this world-class athlete to
compete in the 100-meter dash! And revisit the outdated rules around
marijuana and athletes.

[4]Sign the petition

There are many reasons to have rules against performance-enhancing drugs,
but this one is absurd.

The imposition of a penalty against a world-class Black, queer, woman
athlete is powerfully and infuriatingly reminiscent of the way drug laws
are regularly applied in the United States. Recreational marijuana use has
been de facto legal for upper-middle-class white people for
years—something more states are recognizing as they legalize marijuana for
all people and consider how to repair the damage done to Black and brown
communities by decades of the "war on drugs."

The world is coming together for a Summer Olympics postponed by a global
pandemic. and we deserve to see the best athletes in fair, open
competition. That includes Sha'Carri Richardson, whose one-month penalty
is excessively punitive for an irrational, outdated rule.

Let Sha'Carri run!

[ [link removed] ]Add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Isbah, Justin, David, Mohammad, and the rest of the team

Sources:
1. "Simone Biles Dials Up the Difficulty, 'Because I Can'," The New York
Times, May 24, 2021
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

2. "Tokyo 2020: Two Namibian Olympic medal contenders ruled ineligible for
women's 400m due to naturally high testosterone levels," CNN, July 3, 2021
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

3. "The Olympics Ban On Afro Swim Caps Is Targeting Black Athletes,"
Refinery29, July 2, 2021
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

4. "The doping rules that cost Sha’Carri Richardson have a debated,
political history," The Washington Post, July 3, 2021
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

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It was created on MoveOn.org, where anyone can start their own online
petitions. You can [ [link removed] ]start your own petition here.


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