#LetShaCarriRun: A Thematic Analysis of the Twitter Discourse Surrounding Sha'Carri Richardson's Absence from the 2020 Olympics

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Files

Publication or External Link

Date

2022

Citation

Abstract

Black American female sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson placed first in the women’s 100-meter race at the United States Olympic track and field trials in June of 2021. A few weeks later, Richardson’s in-competition drug test returned positive for marijuana, and she was issued a 30-day suspension. By conducting a six-phase thematic analysis of 5,041 relevant tweets collected two weeks after Richardson’s suspension was announced, this study examines public concerns present in the Twitter discourse surrounding Richardson’s absence from the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. The findings demonstrate that while race was present within the discourse, the Twitter conversations were not as overtly racist as expected. Most of the vitriol uncovered within the dataset was directed at the Olympics for perpetuating a variety of double standards. Further, this study suggests that Richardson garnered widespread public support among Twitter users and reveals the public's reluctance to view marijuana as a performance-enhancing drug.

Notes

Rights