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Ellis has accussed USATF for unexpectedly removing her from the line up for the final of their 4 by 400m women's relay final at the ongoing Olympics over her social media activity.
American sprinter Kendall Ellis, the reigning U.S. 400-meter champion and a seasoned relay specialist, has publicly criticized USA Track & Field (USATF) after being unexpectedly pulled from the 4x400m relay final at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Ellis alleges that her removal was linked to her social media activity, a decision she called out as a major flaw in the system.
Ellis took to her X (formerly Twitter) account to express her frustration, writing, “If they’re gonna keep me off of relays based on tweets that’s another flaw in the system lol.” She added, “Imagine being told this morning that you were running the finals of the 4x4 just to be told 4 minutes before call time that you’re not.”
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In a series of tweets, Ellis vented her anger over what she described as a lack of communication and transparency from USATF.
“No. Y’all wanna be dense on purpose. You’re missing the point of the lack of communication, the lying, and lack of transparency. If you’ve never been part of a USATF relay meeting you wouldn’t know.”
Ellis, who had been preparing to compete in the relay, was informed just four minutes before the final that she would not be running. This abrupt decision came after a day of mixed messages from the team’s relay coach, Mechelle Freeman.
Ellis recounted the confusion in an interview with ESPN, explaining that Freeman had initially told her she would not be running, only to later reconsider and assign her to the third leg of the relay. However, this decision was reversed at the last minute, leaving Ellis blindsided and deeply frustrated.
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"I feel very proud of the team that was put out there. I think they ran incredible," Ellis said. "I also feel disappointed and lied to and embarrassed. I feel like I was blindsided because I was told one thing this morning and, for hours, thought I was running in the final. It seems everyone knew besides me."
Ellis’s frustration highlights a broader issue she believes exists within USATF regarding the management of relay teams.
“I feel like so many athletes on the U.S. team have had this concern of there being a lack of transparency and communication regarding U.S. relays,” she said. “This is not new. This is not shocking. There is a history of this on USA relays, and I am fed up and would like to bring awareness to it.”
Despite the disappointment, Ellis is unsure of her future plans, expressing uncertainty about what lies ahead. “I can’t give an answer right now,” she admitted. “I’m disappointed and upset, and now’s not the time to make decisions.”
USATF has yet to respond to Ellis's claims, leaving many questions unanswered about the decision-making process and the role that social media posts may have played in her removal from the relay team.
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