Christian Coleman Defends Girlfriend Sha’Carri Richardson After Her Arrest for Domestic Violence

Christian Coleman is speaking out following Sha’Carri Richardson’s domestic violence arrest.

The U.S. sprinter, 29, defended his girlfriend, one week after the Olympic 100-meter silver medalist was detained at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for allegedly pushing Coleman multiple times as they left TSA airport security.

The arresting officer allegedly witnessed Richardson push Coleman multiple times, before he fell into a nearby column, according to USA Today, citing the Seattle Police Department. Airport security footage allegedly documented Coleman attempting to walk away from Richardson, but she kept bumping into him. Authorities also report that she threw a pair of headphones at him, USA Today reported. Coleman refused to press charges and “declined to be a victim,” according to The New York Times.

“For me personally, I feel like it was a sucky situation all round,” Coleman told reporters on Sunday, Aug. 3. “I don’t feel like she should have been arrested. I mean people have discussions and emotions and stuff like that.”

However, the three-time world championship gold medalist also alluded to Richardson’s past emotional struggles.

“She has things that she needs to work on for herself, of course,” he said. “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.”

On Sunday, July 27, the 25-year-old Dallas native was booked at the South Correctional Entity in Des Moines, Wash. She was released the next day, according to jail records obtained by PEOPLE.

A week later, neither athlete had good showings at the U.S. Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. over the weekend.

Coleman, who won the 100-meter at the 2019 World Championships, failed to advance to worlds, placing fifth in the 100 and sixth in the 200-meter. Richardson — who has an automatic bid into the 100-meters next month in Tokyo as the reigning world champion — narrowly missed qualifying for the 200-meter final.

Richardson has not commented on her arrest.

The Atlanta native — who declined to press charges last week — is taking the high road.

“I just look at situations like this to take a step back, analyze yourself mentally and then just try to see what you could do to be your best self so that you can move forward,” he said.

He continued, “She has a lot of things going on. A lot of emotions and forces going on inside of her that not only I can’t understand, but nobody can. Because she’s one of one… I know that it’s been a tough journey for her this year. But she’s going to bounce back. She’s a human being and a great person and I feel like we’ve been able to be really good teammates like all year … and to me she’s the best female athlete in the world. I see it every day.”

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.