Paul Wright | 'Ah nuh nutten'

Violence in the nation is rightly frowned upon by every well-thinking citizen. The fact that this nation is numbered among the most violent nations, especially where murder is concerned, has grabbed the attention of the Government, the police, civil society, and ordinary, everyday Jamaicans. It is, therefore, very important that every time there is illegal or inappropriate violence, there MUST be swift and meaningful sanctions after a quick and thorough investigation.

However in sports, the exact opposite seems to be the norm. in Sunday's edition of this newspaper, columnist Tony Becca reminds us of an incident earlier this year when a cricketer, Devon Thomas, representing St Thomas in a match against Melbourne Cricket Club, smashed all three of his stumps when an umpire signalled that he was out after being bowled! Apparently, Thomas believed that because of a late attempt to stop the bowler in his delivery stride, being bowled should not count. When his protestations did not achieve the desired result, down came all of his stumps, smashed by the irate cricketer. Melbourne CC benefited from this fit of anger by having five runs added to their total, but if there was an investigation, no one is aware of the outcome. But Thomas was selected to represent the region in international cricket. It may be that Thomas escaped sanction because the Jamaica Cricket Association was grateful that his venom was directed at the stumps and not the umpire, therefore, "ah nuh nutten".

In Track and Field, the recently concluded JAA National Senior and Junior Athletics Championships had a report of three boys attacking and beating an official, Trevor 'TC' Campbell, with an iron pipe, ostensibly because he refused to allow one of the boys to enter the call zone of a race because he had earrings in an ear. Rumours as to the antecedents to the beating made an early and thorough investigation, and its findings known, mandatory. To date: nothing, nada, apparently because Campbell did not suffer life threatening injuries, "ah nuh nutten."

Richard Reid's Plight

In the sport of horse racing, Richard Reid, a jockey, who despite not winning a race for the past 13 years, finally won one at Caymanas Park. He rode the horse Obama Girl to victory on Saturday, June 30, at the attractive odds of 99/1. His unmitigated joy and relief, however, was curtailed when the horse was disqualified because Reid was reported to have completed the race carrying less weight (body weight and gear) than when he started the race. Despite his protestations that there must be a scale malfunction, his pleas fell on deaf ears, and he was disqualified. Irate fans beat Reid to the extent that he had to receive medical attention that resulted in stitches becoming necessary to assist in the healing process of a scalp laceration. My own investigation has revealed that there is a problem with the scale used in the winner's enclosure at the racetrack. A new scale has been purchased and yet, not installed, for reasons that are unclear to me as they defy logic. In fact, I am informed that after the running of the following race a similar incident occurred and a decision was made by the stewards of the meet to no longer use the suspect scale for the rest of the day.

Yet, to date, nothing, nada, no report on the outcome of an investigation, apparently because Reid did not receive life-threatening injuries, "ah nuh nutten". Yet, somehow, we expect the nation, onlookers, and fans of these sports to be left with the opinion that if there are decisions that you disagree with, smash something or someone, because if there is no life-threatening injury, "ah nuh nutten".

Do we continue to allow this apparent winking and nodding to those whose actions bring the game into disrepute to go unsanctioned, or do we, collectively, for the first time, at last, tell the administrators "No more waffling, bobbing and weaving? Act now, decisively, based on unbiased investigations that are made public"? If we continue to remain silent in the face of these and similar acts, violent dissent WILL become the norm! Our dream of a violence-free society will be just that, a dream.

Finally, I was pleased to see an article by fellow columnist Dalton Myers about the obvious disparity in applying sanctions to "big name athletes" who test positive for banned substances. Welcome to the club, Dalton.

I have been involved in a crusade against the use of drugs in sports long before the onset of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission. I can unequivocally state that there is no country, or supervisory authority that has any appetite to sanction these "untouchables" when an adverse analytical finding is announced. Men and women with previously impeccable reputations for integrity would turn themselves into virtual pretzels, in an effort to exonerate the accused individual.

The latest person to feel the wrath of the supporters of British cyclist Chris Froome, is the head of the International Cycling Union,(UCI) David Lappartient, who believes that money had a role to play in the exoneration of Froome after his reported adverse analytical finding. Welcome to the club Dalton. Your journey will test your "sticktoitiveness".