Sha'Carri Richardson arrest details: How airport video showed USA track star's physical incident with boyfriend

Daniel Chavkin

Sha'Carri Richardson arrest details: How airport video showed USA track star's physical incident with boyfriend image

Star sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson was caught on camera appearing to shove her boyfriend in Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, showing the incident that led to her arrest late last month.

Richardson was arrested on Sunday, July 27, on suspicion of domestic violence against her boyfriend, Christian Coleman. According to The Athletic, a police officer witnessed the incident and arrested Richardson on a fourth-degree domestic assault offense despite Coleman's objections, and Coleman declined to press charges.

Coleman, however, disagreed with the arrest.

"I feel like it was just a sucky situation all around, I don't feel as if she should have been arrested," he said.

Richardson was reportedly taken into custody for 19 hours before her release. She is coming off of preliminary races and is set to compete in the World Championships in September. Here's a look at the video that surfaced of the incident.

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Sha'Carri Richardson arrest

TMZ obtained the video of the incident between Richardson and her boyfriend that led to her arrest. The 25-year-old could be seen shoving her boyfriend in the airport over the course of about one minute, at one point shoving him into a pylon.

An officer reportedly witnessed the incident and decided there was enough to arrest her on a potential domestic assault charge.

The Port of Seattle Police Department released body footage showing Richardson telling officers she didn't place her hands on Coleman. She also called Coleman a coward in a video obtained by TMZ.

"We had an argument," Richardson said. "I'll be honest about that. We had an argument -- that's pretty much it."

Who is Sha'Carri Richardson's boyfriend?

Sha'Carri Richards is dating fellow sprinter Christian Coleman, who will also compete in the 2025 World Championships. The 29-year-old Coleman was a star sprinter at the University of Tennessee and has been representing the United States in international competitions for a decade.

Coleman has successfully won four gold medals and four silver medals in the World Championships over the course of his career, and he was a multi-time NCAA Champion over the course of his college career. He has also competed twice in the Olympics, both as part of the 4 x 100m men's relay.

When speaking with media after the incident, Coleman defended Richardson and stood firm that the incident wasn't an issue.

Richardson issued an apology on Aug. 12, taking to Instagram stories to praise Coleman and explain how her "past trauma and pain" had prevented her from receiving and giving love.

"He came into my life and gave me more than a relationship but a greater understanding of unconditional love from what I've experienced in my past," Richardson said. "I love him and to him I can't apologize enough. My apologize should be just as loud as my actions honestly louder. To Christian I love you and I am so sorry."

Richardson also vowed to not "run away", saying she's ready to face the consequences of her spat with Coleman in the pursuit of further growth. 

"Everything on the other side is greater but you've got to go through in order to get there," Richardson said.

Daniel Chavkin

Daniel Chavkin is a Digital Content Producer for The Sporting News. A 2018 graduate from the University of Maryland, he has previously written for Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports and NFLTradeRumors.com.