I wrote this when Sha’Carri was at her lowest. Today she is doing so well. It’s good to read how she is overcoming self-sabotage. I hope she reads this for growth. Well done Sha’Carri!
Recently Sha’Carri Richardson, American track and field sprinter was barred from competing in the 100-meter qualifying Olympic race. She tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in cannabis. She accepted a one-month period of ineligibility from the World Anti-Doping Agency knowing what she did. My concern is if we are seeing a case of possible self-sabotage here.
Sha’Carri has been steadily preparing for her Olympic performance. But what happened to make her lose sight of her goal. As a black female, Sha’Carri falls victim to the standard; ‘you have to be ten times as good as your white compatriots’. Black athletes all know that all eyes are on them constantly and to succeed they must be PERFECT. The pressure is real. When Sha’Carri set her goals we can assume some of them to be; becoming number one in her field, fastest woman etc. The road to such goals, as athletes like Usain Bolt, Venus Williams, Jackie Joyner-Kersee know, is filled with high intensity pressure from pushing your body and pushing your mind to its limits and beyond.
And to add to that the world will be watching you just waiting for you to fail or mess up once! Sha’Carri knew this.
So what really happened?
So, what really happened? Sha’Carri said that she took the drug to cope with the pressure of making it to the Olympics and to deal with the emotional pain from learning about her biological mother’s death. I say that is not the complete reason. This looks like a case of self-sabotage, a result of intergenerational trauma and the conundrum of Success and Sadness. Blackness carries a heavy load.
The Olympics would have been one very big goal in the career of this young sprinter. But it also was the weakness in the plan. Aiming high helps, but satisfaction is rarely found at the peak of Everest, more often there is the low feeling that follows the exhilaration. This young girl could have feelings after qualifying for the massive goal of the Olympics like, what’s next? Or what if I don’t make it over there! What will people think? What if I am not good enough? Why am I really doing this? And the results of these thoughts are actions that undermine (subconsciously or intentionally) goals and sometimes values.
Self -Sabotage
Self-sabotage can become a chronic issue. We usually think of self-sabotage as overeating or self-injury, fear of success etc; But I don’t think that’s the full case here. Especially when we hear that the reporter strategically chose the interview as a medium to distract, shock, hurt and dislocate the youngster by mentioning her mother. In the hurry to be the first it didn’t matter who got pushed under the bus. Reminds me of Naomi Osaka.
But Sha’Carri must self-reflect to see why she chose to take a chance that she knew could damage her career or her reputation if exposed. Why put herself into a place of ongoing criticism.
Where was her support team? At a time like this when we know the odds are not in our favor, why is she doing a major interview on her own. Didn’t they know what MIGHT just be mentioned. Where are the mentors for these youngsters. They have to seek them out for themselves as it seems the formal associations are weak in this area. Young people need to find out what helped those who came before to stay the course.
The answer is not in a moment of fleeting pleasure but in the journey itself. We cannot run away from the difficulties of life, hide our heads in the sand, or even think about failing. We have to stay and fight through, like our ancestors did.