Track and field star Sha’Carri Richardson was kicked off of an American Airlines flight on Saturday after an argument with a flight attendant.
Richardson says the argument started after the flight attendant asked her to get off the phone before the flight took off. The 22-year-old track star said she ended her call but told the flight attendant that she thought the tone they used was disrespectful. She recorded a part of the argument and took to Instagram after to share what happened.
“Prior to the video this gentleman asked me to get off a cell phone call, I did,” Richardson said. “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.”
“I want to take responsibility for my actions,” she added. “I’m not looking for an excuse.”
“I would like to say to my fans and my family and my sponsorship, to the haters, too, I apologize. As much as I’m disappointed, I know that when I step on that track, I don’t represent myself, I represent a community that has shown me great support, great love.”
American Airlines released a statement following the incident. In the statement, they said, “We reaccomodated the customer on a later flight and a member of our team has reached out to learn more.”
