Barbadian netballers neglected at home
The Bajan Gems and their administrators at Sunday’s ceremony. Photo by George Alleyne
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Caribbean Life, January 24-30, 2020 47
By George Alleyne
An athlete representing country
automatically becomes an informal
ambassador of the homeland, so
why then that such a carrier of the
nation’s flag and image be made
to scrounge for a living when back
home?
That’s the question members
of Barbados’ world ranked netball
team and their fraternity are asking
because too many of their own
have long been left in the wilderness
of the unemployed and find
life difficult when away from the
playing court.
“We have several national players
who are unemployed. They rise
to fame for the two weeks that
Barbados is in competition and
they are quickly forgotten when
the competition ends,” said longstanding
president of the Barbados
Netball Association (BNA) Nisha
Craigwell.
“There should never be a case
where someone has represented
their country at the highest level,
especially for an extended period
but then struggle to put food on
their table for their family. It is
a great injustice and too often I
see this scenario played out before
me.”
Craigwell’s choice remarks came
Sunday as this association with a
team, ‘Bajan Gems’, that holds a
world ranking of number 12, held
its awards ceremony, merely two
months before its 45th anniversary
as an association.
Appealing for support from corporate
Barbados, Craigwell noted,
“our beloved Bajan Gems are worldclass
athletes who just require some
additional resources to get them
to the next level. Give them the
respect that they truly deserve”.
Neglect of sports personalities
who battled for their country is
sadly a common story across the
Caribbean, and gives reason to
a recent statement by Jamaican
Sports Administrator, Dr. Michael
Fennell.
In a report carried by Caribbean
Life, Fennell said in chiding CARICOM
heads of government, “when
you look at the status of sports in
the Caribbean and what we are
doing about the development of
sports, I am very concerned. I am
concerned because although we
have done well and continue to
do well, it is almost by accident
because we have not truly invested
in sports in the Caribbean”.
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