Roland Martin Slammed On Twitter After Poking Fun At Sha'Carri Richardson

Source: Paras Griffin / Getty

After Sha’carri Richardson placed last at the Prefontaine Classic last week, social media wasn’t kind to the almost-Olympian. One of the people who put their two cents in about Richardson’s loss was Roland Martin.

“Damn. @itskerrii Sha’Carri Richardson got smoked at the Prefontaine @nikepreclassic like a big Jamaican blunt!,” he tweeted. “That was BRUTAL. If ya a** gonna write checks, they can’t bounce! She finishes NINTH. She got HUMBLED real fast by the world’s top sprinters.”

While he was saying what many others were saying online, Martin was hit with backlash over his comments.

One person tweeted that with this kind of comment, Martin is not being considerate of Richardson’s mental health.

“This is inappropriate for a variety of reasons but especially bc you are supposed to be a mentor to Black journalists. Super weird that while @NABJ holds panels about mental health, you, a prominent member in the organization, participates in this type of behavior.”

Another person said that he didn’t have to be so harsh.

“There was a more respectful way to say this. Thought we’re supposed to be lifting each other up? Cause I’m sure you wouldn’t like it if people had been dunking on you when you come up short.”

Another user tweeted that he should be lifting Richardson up instead of kicking her while she was down.