The IOC stole the Olympics from Brianna McNeal and criticized her religion
Brianna McNeal, 29, has been banned from participating in the Olympic games for the next five years due to missing a doping test. McNeal is widely known for being the Olympic Gold Medalist in 2016 for the 100-meter hurdles. The took mishap with the test took place in January of 2020, just two days after having an abortion. She explained that she was in bed recovering and did not hear the anti-doping officials at her door. The report from the officials stated that not only did no one answer the door, but no one answered the phone as well.
McNeal made the mistake of putting the wrong date of her abortion on the documents that she turned in explaining why she missed the test. She put January 11, 2020, instead of January 10, 2020. Officials continued to tug at the situation and asked for further information from her doctor, which revealed her mistake. This also raised a few eyebrows since she was previously suspended for a year due to missing three drug tests in a single year. These absences were all public; for example, she was in the White House with USATF team meeting former President Barack Obama.
The five-year ban caused her to miss the current Olympics and would cause the following Olympics. McNeal tried to appeal her suspension; however, she was denied by The Court of Arbitration for Sport. While her appeal was waiting on a final decision, she was allowed to compete. She ultimately claimed her spot in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics; however, she will have to give that spot up to Gabbi Cunningham, the fourth-place finisher, due to her suspension.
McNeal wanted to make it very clear that she is a clean athlete, and she was not banned for drugs but for having an abortion. She has been tested over 70 times and has never tested positive for drugs. She did not feel protected during this very vulnerable and emotional time in her life by the Athletics Integrity Unit. Due to her accidentally putting the wrong date, it classified her situation as tampering with doping control.
Everyone makes mistakes, especially when it comes to writing dates. During this situation, McNeal’s mental health was compromised due to the lack of compassion, understanding, and sympathy during her hearings.
Brianna McNeal took to Instagram and stated, “ I sat through two hearings, one held in April 2021 and July 2021, and listened to white European men tell me how my experience doesn’t match their perspective. They criticized me, and overly judged my decision making, completely ignored the fact that I was under physical and mental trauma after undergoing an abortion, and that I was not in the right mental capacity when making certain decisions.”
Men should have no say so when it comes to women’s bodies. The emotional trauma and baggage of abortion is something they can never fathom going through. It affects every woman differently, and it is ridiculous to tell a woman what she may or may not be going through. In her second hearing, McNeal explained that they brought in a clinical psychiatrist to determine her mental health. During that process, they undermined and belittled her experience and mental health, along with the judgment of seeking spiritual guidance to handle the whole ordeal.
Supporters have been letting McNeal know that she is not standing alone in her fight for justice. One supporter stated on her Twitter, “Makes my stomach turn it’s so disgusting why would there be men to decide the authentic factor of how a woman feels after an abortion the system is sick the men behind it or sick all for missing it by 24 hours? Track is such a joke that we get the harshest punishment for nothing.”
It is important to realize that athletes still make mistakes. They are human.