Sha’Carri Richardson has opened up for the first time following her arrest for assaulting her boyfriend, Christian Coleman.
The Olympic gold medalist took to her Instagram Story on Monday, explaining that she is holding herself “accountable” for the public incident that led to her domestic violence offense.
“Hey y’all, it’s Sha'Carri. More than anything, definitely a lot of self-reflection, a lot of understanding of not only putting myself in a compromising situation with somebody that I have a deep care and appreciation for as well, is something that—holding myself accountable,” she said in the clip.
“I see myself. I’m taking this time to not only see myself but get myself a certain level of help that overall is going to reflect who I truly am in my heart and in my spirit, and not allowing this moment, but accepting this moment to be more," she added.
“So my only thing is, I want to be more—not just only for myself, for my family, my fans," Richardsomn continued. "I overly appreciate y’all supporting me and showing up, and even holding me accountable to being my best self,” she continued. “So more than anything, I refuse to run away…but face everything that comes to me head-on because everything on the other side is greater, but you gotta go through in order to get there.”
Richardson also directly apologized to Coleman on her IG Story.
The 25-year-old was arrested in July for allegedly assaulting Coleman. Security footage obtained by TMZ reveals that the incident happened on July 27 at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. Richardson was seen repeatedly pushing and shoving Coleman in front of other travelers. He was apparently attempting to walk away from her until she grabbed his backpack and pushed him into a column.
At the time, Richardson told authorities that she and Coleman had gotten into a “heated” exchange, but didn’t provide details on the context of the argument. Even though Coleman didn’t want to press charges, Richardson was booked and held behind bars for 18 hours.
Coleman, a track and field sprinter, later addressed the incident.
“For me personally, I feel like it was a sucky situation all round,” Coleman said, per USA Today. “I don’t feel like she should have been arrested. I mean people have discussions and emotions and stuff like that. 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.”
He continued: “She’s a human being and a great person, and I feel like we’ve been able to be really good team-mates all year… We’re just two dominant personalities. To me, she’s the best female athlete in the world… She’s just had a lot of things going on, lot of emotions and forces going on inside of her that not only I can’t understand, but nobody can.”
The couple first started dating in early 2025.