SVGBF to address player issue

The choice of Mary Ann Frederick to represent St Vincent and the Grenadines at the ECCB/OECS Under-23 netball tournament instead of the Caribbean Basketball Championships is not sitting well with the executive of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Basketball Federation.{{more}}

Fredrick left here last Friday for St Lucia to take part in the sub-regional Under-23 netball tournament. But, president of the SVGBF Junior Sutton has indicated his intent to take the matter further.

“I will be recommending to the Federation that a letter be sent to the young lady and copy it to the netball association and the Minister of Sports, stating our position…. I am sure that nothing will be done about it, but it has to be recorded properly,” stated Sutton at a press conference last Wednesday afternoon at the Xpert Computer Centre.

Frederick, who was a student at the Mc Cook Junior College in the United States of America, was brought home at the expense of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Basketball Federation.

“She made a commitment and she forfeited and there is no pussy footing around a matter like that; it is simple as that” Sutton commented.

Sutton said that the action to be taken by his executive is merely to prevent such re-occurrence in the future and reiterated “It is serious issue.”

Meanwhile, the man at the centre of the arrangement to bring Frederick back to St Vincent and the Grenadines, Wayne Williams, who is the first- vice-president of the SVGBBF and the coach of the female team, said: “When somebody makes a commitment, especially something like this, that player has the responsibility and the persons around that player have the responsibility to insist that player has to fulfill or ought to fulfill that obligation.”

When quizzed about a compromise, since both tournaments were days apart, Williams said that the purpose of travelling to Tortola more than a week prior to the championships was to hold a camp so that home based players could “gel” with those from overseas.

The OECS Netball tournament began last Saturday and ends tomorrow, Wednesday July 2, while the female component of the Caribbean Basketball Champion-ships begins July 8.

Williams said that Frederick’s choice has had an impact on the configuration, as she was already registered, while others were cut from the team to make way for her. (RT)