Track And Field Star Sha'Carri Richardson Kicked Off Flight
Sha'Carri Richardson, a track and field star for the U.S. team, was kicked off an American Airlines flight on Saturday.
Richardson posted the incident on Instagram, with video showing an altercation with a flight attendant.
According to her claims in the video, a flight attendant identified as "John," essentially asked her to stop talking on her phone prior to takeoff.
Richardson said she felt disrespected by the flight attendant, and told him she didn't like his tone.
“Prior to the video this gentleman asked me to get off a cell phone call, I did,” she wrote in a video caption. “I stated to him I didn’t like the tone he used with me. Following that while standing in front of me doing the safety protocols he continued to lean over to look at my phone. He asked to see that my phones were in airplane more at this point. He demanded that me show him. Which I did in front of him.”
The flight attendant then asked that she stop recording, which Richardson took exception to.
“I’m recording me but you jumped in my video, so I caught you, because you jumped in my video,” Richardson told the flight attendant. “You’re harassing me at this point, so I think you should stop. I think you should stop.”
Richardson Not Making Friends
A number of passengers were upset with Richardson, asking her to stop the fight so the plane could leave.
She did not respond well to that.
“Y’all see him right? Y’all see him right? Y’all see him right? I’m sorry, it’s not me,” Richardson shot back. “Talk to him. No ma’am. Do not talk to me like that. I’m an adult. Do not talk to me like that. Do not talk to me like that. Tell him to stop. If you do not know what’s going on, do not yell at me.”
Another passenger said they would miss their connection because of the delay.
“Oh, so you’re worried about a connection when a grown man is disrespecting me?” Richardson replied.
Finally, as she was escorted off, other passengers applauded.
Richardson posted her frustrations after the incident, and referenced potential legal action.
“Tell me if I’ll be wrong to pursue legal actions against the airline @americanair not only did the man threaten me but also an innocent bystander who simply just wanted a picture with me. In the beginning of the video you can hear a Caucasian male state that he doesn’t give a f as a man that male flight attendant is intimidating a woman,” the caption read. “Also the captain not doing anything to help the situation and this flight attendant has the applause when I exited the plane when I’m pretty serious the disrespect I received would not have happened if I was a one of them.”
Richardson is perhaps best known for missing the 2021 Olympics due to a positive marijuana test.
READ: SHA’CARRI RICHARDSON BANNED FROM OLYMPICS FOR NOT DOING ANYTHING RESEMBLING CHEATING
It's hard to take sides without seeing the full story, but generally, it seems easy to follow instructions from flight attendants.
Not so much for Richardson.