BOLT SHOULD KNOW BETTER BY NOW

There was a significant debate recently over whether Usain Bolt deserved the national honour, Order of Jamaica that has been bestowed upon him by Prime Minister Bruce Golding. Many believed that it was too early for the 23-year-old World and Olympic champion to be receive the nation’s fourth highest honour.

Personally, I think Bolt deserves any and everything but he also needs to learn and learn fast that with such honour comes great responsibility. The recent brouhaha wherein Bolt made some disparaging remarks against supporters of Movado is an example of how quickly he needs to grow up.

Bolt is a supporter of entertainer Vybz Kartel, a man who veteran entertainer Bounty Killer described recently as the worst thing ever to happen to dancehall. (I guess there is no accounting for musical taste.) Based on Bolt’s comments, supporters of Movado have reportedly threatened Bolt and his management team is ‘leaving nothing to chance’, so they are taking extra precaution to ensure that Bolt remains safe.

This is my argument. Bolt is young but he is not a fool. He must be aware of the ongoing conflict between the two entertainers’ camps. He should also aware that there have been clashes between supporters of the opposing camps. His statements were inflammatory and in the context of the ongoing violence, naïve.

Usain Bolt could be forgiven for making such statements in public but Usain Bolt O.J. should have known better. His management admits that the champion sprinter is still a work in progress; that is he still a bit rough around the edges, but if Bolt is learning on the fly, this was one lesson he should have already learnt. Remember the comments he made about rolling ganja spliffs as a child? Or, the press conference where he was clowning around behind the moderator? Those incidents should have prepared him enough for him to see that there are certain things he should not do.

Surely he must be aware that there are some people who are not so bright and will do him harm just to get their 15 minutes of fame. If he has not yet learnt that lesson then he needs to learn it even more quickly than he would normally be required to. If he doesn’t it could cost him the rest of his career and neither his parents nor Jamaica and those who adore him would like that one bit. Neither would he.