Sha'carri Richardson booted from American Airlines flight after argument with flight attendant
Richardson rose to prominence after she was denied the opportunity to compete in the Olympics
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Track and field star Sha’Carri Richardson was kicked off a flight after a verbal confrontation with an American Airlines flight attendant Saturday.
Richardson posted a series of videos related to the incident to her Instagram account.
In the posts, the 23-year-old claimed the flight attendant disrespected her while she was on a phone call prior to takeoff.
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Sha’Carri Richardson competes in the women's 100 meters during the Weltklasse Zurich 2022, part of the 2022 Diamond League series at Stadion Letzigrund Sept. 8, 2022, in Zurich. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images / Getty Images)
One of the videos posted to Richardson's Instagram story showed her sitting in her seat aboard the plane.
"Prior to the video this gentleman asked me to get off a cell phone call, I did," Richardson wrote in a caption after briefly turning her phone and to show a flight attendant.
"I stated to him I didn’t like the tone he used with me. Following that while standing in front of me doing the safety protocols he continued to lean over to look at my phone. He asked to see that my phones were in airplane more at this point. He demanded that me show him. Which I did in front of him."
Richardson did not specify where she was traveling to, but she did mention that it was "vacation time." The flight attendant is heard in the video demanding that Richardson stop recording.
She responded by saying, "You're harassing me at this point, I think you should stop. I think you should stop."
The flight attendant’s initial comments toward Richardson were not seen in the social media videos.
Several passengers were heard making various comments about the situation, with one person seeming to tell Richardson to end the argument with the airline employee.
Sha’Carri Richardson competes at Weltklasse Zurich 2022, part of the 2022 Diamond League series at Stadion Letzigrund Sept. 8, 2022 in Zurich. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images / Getty Images)
"Y’all see him right? Y’all see him right? Y’all see him right? I’m sorry, it’s not me," Richardson told the other passengers. "Talk to him. No ma’am. Do no talk to me like that. I’m an adult. Do not talk to me like that. Do not talk to me like that. Tell him to stop. If you do not know what’s going on, do not yell at me."
Another video showed Richardson recording herself as she spoke to someone else about the incident. At some point, someone told her, "Thank you, by the way. I'm missing my connection."
Sha'Carri Richardson smiles after placing second in the women's 100 meters during the New York Grand Prix at Icahn Stadium June 12, 2022, in New York City. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images / Getty Images)
"Oh, so you’re worried about a connection when a grown man is disrespecting me?" Richardson responded.
"I don’t give a s---," the passenger replied.
She later hinted she could pursue some sort of legal action.
"Tell me if I’ll be wrong to pursue legal actions against the airline @americanair not only did the man threaten me but also an innocent bystander who simply just wanted a picture with me," she wrote in a caption.
Richardson was eventually escorted off the plane, and some passengers applauded.
"Also the captain not doing anything to help the situation and this flight attendant has the applause when I exited the plane when I’m pretty serious the disrespect I received would not have happened if I was a one of them," she added.
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Fox News Digital contacted American Airlines about the incident and received the following statement in response:
"We strive to provide all our customers with a positive experience. We reaccommodated the customer on a later flight and a member of our team has reached out to learn more."