"You've got to protect your peace at times " - Sha'Carri Richardson and other young athletes advised by WNBA star A'ja Wilson
Sha'Carri Richardson has often taken her stand on the way athletes are treated by the media. Several instances in the past have shown Richardson overlooking the media after her races.
At the 2022 USA Track and Field Championships, she did not perform well in the women's 100m, following which she chose not to interact with the media and walked passed them. Later, she failed to qualify in the women's 200m for the 2022 World Championships.
When Richardson finally faced the media, she was asked about the 2022 U.S. Track and Field Championships, to which she expressed her contempt and urged the media to be respectful and empathetic towards athletes, irrespective of their performance.
In an interview, with USA Today, on Sports Seriously, A'ja Wilson, forward for the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA, shared a piece of advice for Richardson and other athletes after being asked about the criticisms that an athlete faces by the media.
"Accept the fine than talk and mess up my peace and my mental to someone that’s trying to get a story out," she expressed.
"I think we get so caught up in trying to be this person, this athlete all the time, you’ve got to protect your peace at times," Wilson said.
Sha'Carri Richardson is nominated for Women's World Athlete of the Year 2023 along with Shericka Jackson and nine other athletes
Sha'Carri Richardson has had an incredible run in the 2023 season. Right from the 2023 USATF Outdoor Championships to the 2023 World Athletics Championships in the Hungarian capital, Richardson was successful in displaying an impressive show.
Following her remarkable performances, Sha'Carri Richardson has been nominated for the Women's World Athlete of the Year 2023 along with 10 other female athletes. The list of the 11 female athletes was announced by the World Athletics on Wednesday i.e. October 11, 2023, and the winner will be announced on December 11, 2023.
The other athletes include Shericka Jackson, Tigist Assefa, Femke Bol, Faith Kipyegon, Haruka Kitaguchi, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Maria Perez, Gudaf Tsegay, Yulimar Rojas, Winfred Yavi.
The winner will be decided by tallying the votes cast by the World Athletics Council, the World Athletics Family, and the fans. The council, with 50% of the voting share, and the family with 25% of the votes will cast their votes through email, whereas the fans, allocated the remaining 25% can vote for an athlete through social media platforms.