A petition has been launched to reinstate Sha'Carri Richardson back into the Tokyo Olympics following her recent ban.
The appeal was spearheaded by a user named Isbah Raja on the website MoveOn.org after the 21-year-old relay runner suspended was banned from competing for the US athletics team after testing positive for THC.
As you can see in the image above, this petition has currently racked up approximately 530,100 signatures as of the time of writing.
In the petition's description, Raja called Richardson's month-long athletic suspension "excessively punitive," and went on to state that:
"In no world is marijuana a performance-enhancing drug for runners, and in more places in the United States and around the world, marijuana use is legal."
Raja continues: "The imposition of a penalty against a world-class Black, queer, woman athlete is powerfully and infuriatingly reminiscent of the way drug laws are regularly applied in the United States.
"Recreational marijuana use has been de facto legal for upper-middle-class white people for years - something more states are recognizing as they legalize marijuana for all people and consider how to repair the damage done to Black and brown communities by decades of the 'war on drugs.'"
The athlete, who qualified for the US team with a winning time of 10.86 seconds during the trials last month, has received support and backing from a number of celebrities, politicians, and members of the public.
These include Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, actor Seth Rogen, and now even President Joe Biden has commented on the ruling.
Richardson apologized for her drug use in the wake of her ban; explaining that she had been using cannabis as a coping mechanism following the recent death of her biological mother.
Speaking on NBC's Today show, Richardson stated: "I'm blessed to be alive. I'm responsible for my actions. I know what I did, I know what I'm supposed to do, what I'm allowed not to do, and I still made that decision."
Watch Richardson's apology in the video below:She continued: "I'd like to say to my fans and my family and my sponsorship, I apologize, I'm disappointed. When I'm on the track I represent a great community that has shown me great support and love and I failed you all.
"I apologize for the fact that I didn't know how to control my emotions during that time. I'm human, we're human. I want to be as transparent as possible with you guys."