When unpacking this strange saga, it’s important to remember the Diamond League isn’t a league in the same way that the NBA is a league. NBA franchises are individually owned, but partake in a strict profit-sharing system, and are governed by the mighty hand of a powerful league office. And obviously the 30 teams that comprise the league are set in stone – when you buy tickets to a Knicks game before the season starts, you know exactly what you’re getting, at least in terms of what players will suit up.

The Diamond League is a loose federation of generally pre-existing track meets, whose schedules and entries are constantly evolving and often not even finalized until a couple days out, Athletes hop in and out this circuit based on their training schedule and proximity to, frankly, more important global championships.

This is all to say that just because something is good for one DL meet – and we’ll come back to this notion of “good” in a moment – it certainly doesn’t mean it’s good for all of them. The other meets were probably rightfully pissed that by giving McLaughlin-Levrone a pass into the DL final, Brussels was essentially saying, “yeah, don’t worry about running any of those other events ever again – we’ve got you.” The Diamond League’s status as a league at all is already flimsy at best – and all they have to hold this thing together is the requirement that athletes accumulate regular-season points to get a shot at the final prize (and possibly a bye into the following year’s championship).

HOWEVER: From a purely fan-oriented perspective, we want to see Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone vs. Sha’Carri Richardson over 200m. And given SML’s two recent scares of the 400m American record, racing one lane over from Paulino could’ve possibly pushed her even further into the history books. 

If you’re the reigning Olympic champion, whether good or bad for the sport, you’ve kind of earned the right to line up in any competition you want to, at least for the four years that title remains yours. And fans inarguably want to see McLaughlin-Levrone to race more. They complain – loudly and often – that she doesn’t race enough! And the “pressure makes diamonds” effect goes both ways – while some athletes are probably relieved they don’t have to beat her head-to-head, others would likely relish the chance to be pushed to a new personal or national record.

In an ideal world where made up rules are still loosely enforced, the Diamond League would let her race but exclude her from prize money considerations. And in an even ideal-er world, SML would’ve been racing the world’s best across a range of distances all season. Instead, we’ll get a double-pair of fractured races and a whole bunch of “what ifs.”

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