A commission of inquiry into basketball is needed
SPORTS SCOPE OUR OPINION
Stabroek News
December 28, 2003
There is an old saying: "a drowning man will clutch at a straw", and this is what seems to be the case of albeit two men who were at the centre of the recent basketball fiasco in St Lucia after a tour by some under-19 basketballers.
In another section of the media it was reported that one of the players on that tour, Quincy Wright, had returned to that island to play in some exhibition games. This straw was clutched at, as it was probably seen as an opportunity for former secretary and treasurer of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Assoc-iation (GABA), Perry Woolford and Eon Andrews respectively, to earn some goodwill after that disastrous tour. And who could blame them for jumping on the bandwagon of cheap publicity if it could help redeem their somewhat tarnished public image in sport.
Sportscope would not like to regurgitate the whole sorry affair of what happened in St Lucia, except to say that many issues and questions about the tour remain unresolved. The article referred to earlier was accompanied by a photograph of Woolford, Andrews, a relative of Wright, Godwin McPherson president of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) and Wright the beneficiary of the trip.
"A picture speaks a thousand words", is another wise old saying and that one spoke volumes. Woolford and Andrews were expelled from the GABA after the embarrassing and incident-filled St Lucia tour.
The question here is what message is the president of the GABF sending to the local basketball fraternity when he poses for a picture with two persons whose actions on the recent tour were questionable?
Is McPherson aware of the implications of such an association, or does he simply not care? Then again where is this association headed? Are Woolford and Andrews seeking to become involved with basketball again under the auspices of the federation? What are their current roles with that organization if any?
It seems to us at Sportscope that these two gentlemen may be grooving their way in to the federation by the backdoor on the pretext of helping basketball. This is surely bad news for the sport which has as a result of the fallout from St Lucia, taken a beating. However, the matter does not end there.
Sportscope has seen a recent press release, purportedly from the GABF, announcing that a local club, Courts Pacesetters, has been given permission to host a national competition beginning January 2, 2004. This release, which was not printed on a GABF letterhead and bears no official stamp, was signed by Robert Cadogan in his capacity as national coach/tournament coordinator.
As a matter of principle, this newspaper has decided not to publish this information, since it violates the basic prerequisites and conditions necessary to be considered credible.
It is common practice that releases from any such organization or national body, are issued on the organization's letterhead and where possible, the group/ organization's rubberstamp is affixed to authenticate the information. In addition, the accompanying signature is usually that of an official of the group/organization; a person mandated to sign on its behalf.
Sportscope would like to know what Cadogan's official role with the federation is. Is he duly authorized to issue such a release?
And if so, when and by whom? Failure to provide this information would lead the general public to believe, and naturally so, that the release is a case of pulling the wool over the eyes of fans and players alike. This must not be allowed to happen.
Sportscope holds the view that all sports administrators, and in this instance especially those in basketball, must be held accountable for their actions.
Finally, we would like to issue an urgent wake-up call to the members of the National Sports Commission (NSC) to set up a commission of inquiry into the affairs of basketball in Guyana. That inquiry is needed now more than ever because what happens in basketball may spill over into other sporting disciplines if it has not done so already.
The NSC would do well to remember that "a stitch in time saves nine". Sportscope believes that the NSC, as a national supervisory sporting body, must begin to assert itself and assume a pro-active role to help prevent, rather than attempt to cure problems in sport some of which have major national implications.
Members of the NSC, the ball and the `straw' are in your court!