ATHLETES HAD TO MAKE DECISION FOR THEMSELVES, NOT COUNTRY

Ever since news broke that three of Jamaica’s athletes are in the process of switching allegiance to Bahrain, Jamaicans have been divided in their opinions on whether they should have done so. There are those who feel loyalty should have seen them continue to represent Jamaica while others, like me, believe there is nothing wrong with accepting the opportunity to earn some money and potentially securing their financial futures.

By next year this time Shericka Williams, Kemarley Brown and Andrew Fisher will most likely be representing Bahrain at the Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil. Williams, the 2008 Olympic silver medalist in the 400 metres, will be approaching 31 years old by then. Hampered by a hip injury that has seen her struggle to get to globally competitive times, Williams has had an opportunity to race on the professional circuit these past few years. In her heyday she was one of the top 400-metre runners in the world, but 52-second one-lap runs hardly get you noticed. In the meantime, she has had to find money for medical bills as she tries to overcome the injury that has derailed her career. She has also had to keep a roof over her head and eat well so as to continue her training regime while preventing her body from breaking down. She has also had to pay her coach and possibly a physiotherapist. That’s a pretty expensive outlay for someone who has had little money coming in for the past few years as I suspect that she would have also lost whatever shoe company contract she had prior to her injury.

In the meantime, whatever money she might have received from the JAAA would only serve to ‘fill a gap’ in her mounting expenses. And to rub salt into her already extensive wounds, Corporate Jamaica has made no effort to reward her for her excellent years of service. Quiet and unassuming, Shericka was never a media darling so corporate Jamaica stayed away, her significant exploits in winning individual medals and medals as a member of Jamaica’s mile-relay team in Beijing and Berlin long forgotten.

At Jamaica’s last national championships Williams did not advance beyond the semi-finals of the 400 metres meaning that not only is she not among the best in the world, she is not even among the best in her own country. Life as a professional athlete is hard, especially when your best days are believed to be behind you. So what is a girl to do?

Along comes Bahrain with an offer that could see Williams changing nationalities but in exchange she gets a monthly stipend that could be as high as US$5000 with bonuses a possibility depending on how well she performs. She will also continue to live and be coached here in Jamaica? Who wouldn’t take a deal like that?

Loyalty works both ways. Shericka has sacrificed her body to represent Jamaica ever since she was a junior athlete but now that she is in need of financial support, unfortunately, her country is unable to pony up the support she needs. She has most of her life still ahead of her, a life that will possibly entail raising a family, wanting a home of her own, and putting aside money for a pension of sorts. What will Jamaica do for her in that regard? Is there a pension scheme for athletes who have retired? I don’t think so? Will the Government offer her a subvention to live off for the rest of her days? I think not.

So what is she supposed to do, go live on the streets of St. Elizabeth when her career finally ends? I definitely don’t think that is any kind of option. Against that background if you had to choose between living in squalor and earning US$60,000 a year for life what would you do? Last time I checked, you can’t take loyalty to country to the supermarket, to the utility company or to the mortgage company. I am sure, Williams had to think long and hard about taking a deal like this to don another country’s colours when you have been Jamaican all your life and will continue to be for as long as you live no matter what colours you wear, but at the end of the day one has to look out for one’s self, especially when no one else is looking out for you.

Fisher and Brown are youngsters and both have dipped below 10 seconds once in their respective careers, but in a country where Bolt, Blake, Powell and Carter are all still active, chances of representing one’s country as an individual are slim. Everyone has an ambition to be great. In the USA, the other sprint power in the world, there are options. There is the NFL where speed is king. All you have to do is learn to catch and still run fast while wearing shoulder pads and you can make millions more than one could ever make running track. There are also baseball and basketball to consider. In Jamaica, it’s track or bust.

Sure, they could have waited a few years until Bolt and Powell retired but nothing is guaranteed in life, you have to strike when the iron is hot. I know for a fact that the decision to represent another country has not been easy for the two youngsters. Each has had many a sleepless night mulling the decision to do so. In the end, it turned out to be the right one. They will be the fastest men ever to represent Bahrain and by doing so they will get to line up against their countrymen at the major championships hoping to claim their moment in the sun. For that they will be paid handsomely. Sport is a business and in business there is little room for sentiment.

All three athletes currently with the MVP Track Club, which also stands to benefit from the arrangement because I am sure the coaches will now be paid by Bahrain to train to athletes. It means that the club that was expending valuable and scarce resources to prepare the athletes and getting relatively little back in return should now be able to turn a profit. That profit can be re-invested into the club to perhaps buy new equipment, hire a new coach, or other things that will make MVP better and stronger. It’s a win-win situation.

Jamaica also benefits from the in-flow of foreign exchange.

So you see, sentiments aside this is a deal that makes sense for everyone involved. For those who are upset, unless you are willing to pay the way for these athletes for the rest of their lives, remember that ultimately careers in sport are short, athletes have to earn as much as they can in that short period of time so that they can lead prosperous lives afterwards. At the end of the day, like it or not, sport is a business.