In the spring of 2022, Fred Kerley was everywhere. The U.S. champion, world 100m gold medalist, and face of American sprinting’s post-Bolt generation, Kerley was the man to beat, and impossible to ignore.
Fast-forward three years, and the narrative has taken a sharp turn. No longer headlining start lists, Kerley now finds himself on the sidelines, suspended from Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track (GST) circuit and embroiled in a legal controversy.
The Incident That Changed Everything
The fallout began on May 1 in Dania Beach, Florida, when Kerley was arrested following an alleged altercation with his girlfriend, Olympian Alaysha Johnson, at a Le Méridien hotel. The incident, which reportedly left Johnson with a visible injury, led to Kerley’s arrest and booking, though he was later released. In a statement issued days later, Kerley maintained his innocence, saying:
“While there was a physical altercation, my arrest was not due to any criminal act. Rather, it resulted from my decision to exercise my right to remain silent until legal counsel was present.”
On May 23, Grand Slam Track confirmed Kerley’s suspension pending legal proceedings, scratching him from the highly anticipated Philadelphia Grand Slam meet, a blow not just to the athlete, but to the fans eagerly awaiting his redemption arc.
A Tweet That Spoke Volumes
While Kerley has refrained from addressing the situation directly, he let his feelings be known through a cryptic post on X (formerly Twitter) as reported by Essentially Sports. Sharing a photo of himself clad in a light blue tank top, navy track pants, and a green-and-orange cap, Kerley captioned the image:
“Ain’t too many dogs left in this sport — just folks playin’ fetch.”
A Career on Pause, But Not Everywhere
The suspension couldn’t have come at a worse time for Kerley. After a lackluster performance at April’s Kingston GST meet, where he clocked 10.30 in the 100m and 20.39 in the 200m, the sprinter appeared to be on an upward trajectory. At the Franson Last Chance Meet in Malibu, he delivered three consecutive sub-10 second times, including a blistering 9.87 in the semifinals, signaling a return to elite form.
Philadelphia was meant to be the next step in that comeback. Instead, Christian Coleman and rising star Christian Miller will take the spotlight, while Kerley watches from the sidelines.
However, his international schedule remains open. Kerley is listed to compete at the Rabat Diamond League on May 25, where he’ll face off against the undefeated Akani Simbine and Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, two of the world’s fastest men this season. With a season’s best of 9.98 seconds, the race offers Kerley both a lifeline and a platform to shift the conversation back to what he does best: sprinting.
More Than a Race, It’s Reputation Management
For Kerley, Rabat isn’t just another meet. It’s a statement opportunity. A chance to reclaim his narrative, remind the athletics world of his talent, and prove that his worth extends beyond controversy and headlines. As one freelance track writer noted on X:
“Embattled American sprinter Fred Kerley is listed to compete in the men’s 100m at the Rabat Diamond League meeting on Sunday, 25 May. Kerley, ranked 4th in the world, has a season’s best of 9.98 seconds.”
In a sport where public perception can pivot in a single race, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
A Sport Grappling With Its Own Reflection
Kerley’s tweet tapped into a sentiment that’s been bubbling beneath track and field’s surface for years: the tension between competition and control, individuality and conformity. Whether it was intended as a direct shot at GST or a broader commentary on the sport’s politics, it struck a nerve.
The track world now waits to see how both the legal case and Kerley’s comeback story unfold. As for Grand Slam Track’s decision, its wisdom or overreach will ultimately be judged not just in courtrooms, but in finish line margins and leaderboard shakeups.
