Sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson has broken her silence following her recent arrest on a domestic violence charge, issuing a public apology to her boyfriend, fellow track star Christian Coleman.
In a video posted to Instagram on Monday night, the reigning 100m world champion admitted she had put herself in a “compromised situation.” By Tuesday morning, she followed up with a written apology.
“I love him & to him I can’t apologize enough,” Richardson wrote in all caps. She added that her apology “should be just as loud” as her “actions.” In another post, she said directly, “To Christian I love you & I am so sorry.”
Richardson was arrested on July 27 at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on a fourth-degree domestic violence offence for allegedly assaulting Coleman. She spent more than 18 hours in custody before her release, just days before running the 100m at the U.S. championships in Eugene, Oregon.
In her video message, Richardson said she’s focusing on “self-reflection” and facing challenges “head on” instead of avoiding them.
According to a police report, a TSA supervisor alerted an officer about a disturbance between Richardson and Coleman. Surveillance footage reportedly showed Richardson grabbing Coleman’s backpack, stepping in his way, and shoving him into a wall. The report also said she appeared to throw an item at him — possibly headphones.
The officer wrote that Coleman declined to take part in the investigation and did not wish to be considered a victim.
Richardson praised Coleman in her post, saying he “came into my life & gave me more than a relationship but a greater understanding of unconditional love from what I’ve experienced in my past.”
Richardson, 24, won the 100m at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, took silver at the Paris Games last summer, and earned Olympic gold in the 4×100 relay. She was famously absent from the Tokyo 2021 Games after testing positive for marijuana during U.S. Olympic trials.
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