Detroit Free Press: Suspending Michigan Boxer Claressa Shields For Marijuana is ‘Ludicrous’

Flint native Claressa Shields, one of the most outstanding boxers in the world, has been suspended by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs on behalf of the Michigan Unarmed Combat Commission after testing positive for a trace amount of marijuana.

She has denied ever using the drug and is fighting the suspension.

But that’s beside the point, according to Khalil AlHajal, deputy editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press, who has written a column explaining why the suspension is absurd.

First, AlHajal points out that medical marijuana was legalized in Michigan in 2008, and in 2018, voters approved its recreational use.

He calls the suspension over marijuana “ludicrous” and goes on to say:

READ MORE : Claressa Shields And Ryan Garcia Bitterly React To Controversial Gervonta Davis…

The changes [in marijuana laws] have not made their way to the state’s regulations around combat sports, leading to last month’s ludicrous suspension of one of Michigan’s greatest athletes, potentially tarnishing her spotless reputation for clean competition…

The state’s order of suspension absurdly calls Shields’ supposed conduct “an imminent threat to the integrity of the sport of professional boxing” and “the public interest.”

AlHajal also notes that the trace amount of marijuana was detected after Shields was tested following a fight in Flint last month. Two other boxers that night also tested positive.

He goes on to write:

A Free Press writer who covered the event confirmed reports that weed smoke was noticeable throughout the arena that night, and it isn’t inconceivable that secondhand exposure may have played a role in those test results.