Rules are rules: Biden on Richardson ban

The US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) confirmed Richardson’s suspension on Friday after the sprinter known for brightly-coloured hair and record-breaking speed tested positive for cannabis during her 100-meter US trials in June. The women’s 100-meter event at the Tokyo Olympics starts on July 30, two days after Richardson’s ban ends but the adverse finding means her Olympic qualifying results at the trials, which offer automatic places to the first three qualified athletes in each event, are annulled.

“The rules are the rules and everybody knows what the rules were going in,” Biden said. “Whether they should remain the rules is a different issue, but the rules are the rules.” Richardson’s suspension provoked bipartisan critiques in Washington. Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on USADA to “strike a blow for civil liberties” by overturning the suspension.