Sports’ iniquitous culture

ST VINCENT AND THE Grenadines is fast developing a new industry in sports in which the product is the spin offs of a well- crafted iniquitous culture.

Whilst no one expects perfection at this time, sports, instead of maintaining its core values of love, friendship, selflessness and brotherhood has become the breeding ground for animosities, life- long fall outs, a conniving spirit and back stabbing.

Undoubtedly, this unwelcomed phenomenon has been eating away at every cell of sports, causing sports to taking a downward turn. Sadly, the scourge is becoming deep rooted and almost an inevitability.

Therefore, an air of mistrust, cliques and internal squabbles much to the detriment of the various sporting disciplines, take greater importance, rather than seeing to the greater good.

Consequently, secrecy and confidentiality are no longer traits that some sports administrators want to keep and cherish in their integrity tool kit.

Furthermore, many of our sporting administrators are not holding good the cause of collective responsibility, and if needs be, blame.

Invariably, offenders are quick to throw their fellow members under the bus, as well as hastily take an exit once trouble looms or if the organisation has the potential to be viewed in a bad light.

Often times, the administrative head is the one who has to face the brunt of the ridicule and the criticism, whilst others recuse themselves, shielding under immunity.

The mettle of the reprobate administrators shown most, is that nearing election of a new executive, as everything goes, and it is a case, of “turkeys fight for their own craws”.

Similarly, worrisome, unnerving and sometimes vexing, is the selfish nature of the persons who have been given the responsibilities of being the guardians of sports in this country.

As such, some sports administrators possess an insatiable appetite for extracting more from the organisation they serve, rather than help inject greater expertise and their human resources.

Using sporting organisations for personal aggrandizement is not necessarily new, but the reports emanating from some, is now a way of life, a norm and the ultimate objective for putting themselves up for election.

One would be shocked to learn of the financial rewards in the form of stipends, that some persons in key positions receive, in lieu of their presence and input on committee.

They are redefining what it means to serve your country, albeit that volunteerism is essentially something of the past.

It cannot be anything short of unreasonable and uncaring for persons to make such demands. It is tantamount to raping the respective organisations of their financial resources and more so, robbing the young sportsmen and women from gaining more opportunities.

The aforementioned expose, is a mere general insight of the ridiculous nature in which sports here in St Vincent and the Grenadines is positioned.

Space is insufficient to delve deeper into some of the happenings and specify the perpetrators of the injustices to sports.

Hopefully though some will get the message from the jabs and set themselves straight, flush their consciences of the multiple impurities and sanitise what little of their integrity that is still intact.

This column does not always subscribe to the notion that things have to get worse before they can get better. In this instance, that change in attitude must be now, rather than later.