Christian Coleman is speaking out following Sha’Carri Richardson’s recent domestic violence arrest.
The U.S. sprinter, 29, defended his girlfriend just a week after the Olympic 100-meter silver medalist was detained at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for allegedly pushing him multiple times as they exited TSA security.
According to USA Today, the arresting officer reported witnessing Richardson shove Coleman several times until he stumbled into a nearby column. Surveillance footage allegedly showed Coleman trying to walk away, but Richardson continued to bump into him. Authorities also said she threw a pair of headphones at him. Coleman, however, declined to press charges and “declined to be a victim,” per The New York Times.
“For me personally, I feel like it was a sucky situation all round,” Coleman told reporters on Sunday, Aug. 3. “I don’t feel like she should have been arrested. I mean, people have discussions and emotions and stuff like that.”
The three-time world championship gold medalist acknowledged Richardson’s past emotional struggles, adding, “She has things that she needs to work on for herself, of course. So do I, so do you, so does everybody. But I’m the type of guy who’s in the business of extending grace, and mercy and love.”
On Sunday, July 27, the 25-year-old Dallas native was booked into the South Correctional Entity in Des Moines, Wash., and released the following day, according to jail records obtained by PEOPLE.
One week later, neither athlete found success at the U.S. Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., over the weekend.
Coleman, the 2019 100-meter world champion, placed fifth in the 100 and sixth in the 200, failing to advance to worlds. Richardson — who has an automatic spot in next month’s Tokyo 100-meters as the reigning world champion — narrowly missed qualifying for the 200-meter final.
Richardson has not publicly commented on the arrest.
Coleman, who again emphasized that he would not press charges, said he’s choosing to focus on self-reflection: “I just look at situations like this to take a step back, analyze yourself mentally, and then just try to see what you could do to be your best self so that you can move forward.”
He added, “She has a lot of things going on. A lot of emotions and forces going on inside of her that not only I can’t understand, but nobody can. Because she’s one of one… I know that it’s been a tough journey for her this year. But she’s going to bounce back. She’s a human being and a great person, and I feel like we’ve been able to be really good teammates all year … and to me she’s the best female athlete in the world. I see it every day.”
