U.S. track star Sha’Carri Richardson says she got kicked off a plane Saturday after an altercation.
Richardson shared video and details of the incident on her Instagram account. The situation started when an American Airlines flight attendant requested the 22-year-old sprinter get off her phone.
“Prior to the video this gentleman asked me to get off a cell phone call, I did,” Richardson captioned one of her videos. “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 mode at this point. He demanded that me show him. Which I did in front of him.”
The attendant then asked her to stop videotaping him.
“I’m recording me but you jumped in my video, so I caught you, because you jumped in my video,” Richardson told the attendant. “You’re harassing me at this point, so I think you should stop. I think you should stop.”
Other passengers could then be heard urging Richardson to stop arguing with the attendant. A short time later, she was escorted off the plane, and as she left, other passengers applauded.
Richardson, who won the 2019 NCAA championship in the 100 meters, qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics. However, a urine sample indicated recent cannabis use and she was suspended, missing the Tokyo Games.
Richardson asked her Instagram followers if she should pursue legal action against the airline.
“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,” she said. “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.”
[New York Post; Photo credit: Jen Aragon]
