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What is truth?
Clare Forrester
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
CVM Television's Wayne Walker is a sports journalist on whom one can usually depend to “call a spade a spade”. I applaud him for that. In the wake of the ongoing saga related to the upcoming Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) elections, I carefully followed reports from media houses, especially those which command strong audience support.
Walker is unique in providing television viewers with a clear, unmitigated conclusion to the question about which every sports desk had tantalised their audiences all week. Who was speaking the truth in the Donald Quarrie/Glen Mills/Dr Warren Blake impasse?
Mills, in responding to allegations made by Quarrie that he (Mills) had threatened not to support Dr Blake if Quarrie was on his slate, denied that claim. Those who had been following the issue will recall that media stories repeatedly called on Dr Blake to “clear the air'” in order for the public to know wherein lies the truth.
Well, Dr Blake responded in his address at a function at the Knutsford Court Hotel on Saturday afternoon to launch his campaign manifesto. His response confirmed the veracity of Quarrie's account. Truth, we are told, is the opposite of lies. But, as in this case, there are so many different ways one can look at things. In actuality, as someone once wrote, “there can be more than just one truth.”
Throughout much of last week every media house repeatedly drew attention to Quarrie's explanation for his omission from Blake's slate of candidates. Mills, perhaps understandably, denied Quarrie's account in a more wide-reaching statement that chided the administration about the decision to include an apparently injured Jermaine Gonzales on the 4x400-metre relay team at the London Olympics.
On Saturday, Blake came clean, at least on the Quarrie/Mills issue. One could gather from his statement that he did say something like that to Quarrie although he may (or may not) have called Mills' name. Clearly, the omission of Mills’ name while pointing in the direction of that camp was not necessarily a difficult thing to do. Hence the CVM report.
I watched the sports news on TVJ on Saturday evening and in my view whoever wrote or produced that story chose not to step on any corns. That report merely recalled the impasse and then invited viewers to listen to the words of the JAAA president and draw their own conclusion.
To be fair, they have promised more in their Eye on Sport programme scheduled for airing on Monday of this week. The Jamaica Observer report was even less forthcoming, except that it seemed to give the outgoing president a pass. Its banner headline focused on the Gonzales issue: ‘Blake clears the air on Gonzales affair’, and it proffered no conclusion on the Quarrie/Mills issue. The Gleaner had even less to report, if anything at all, in following up on this issue. All of this should generate concerns about how the media gatekeepers select issues for the national conversation agenda. Simply stated, it is a bit disconcerting.
On both the Gonzales and the DQ issues, Blake indicates that it is time to move on, as those events are history, although he did promise a report. Judging from his statements to date, one expects “more of the same” in the promised report on this issue.
Voting members of JAAA should determine whether or not they are comfortable with that position. From a media perspective, I think the response so far to the Gonzales issue is unacceptable. The public has a right to know a lot more on this; the explanations given so far do not wash.
Regarding Donald Quarrie, I do believe that Dr Blake has the right to exclude whoever he wishes from his slate, and I would have preferred if Donald had accepted that decision and moved on. After all, he was offered the position of international relations officer, assuming the Blake camp succeeds. That would not necessarily be a bad thing, as the records should show that therein lies Quarrie's greatest strength in his post-track years.
Like Oral Tracey, I maintain that Don Quarrie's iconic status ought to command greater respect nationally. Regrettably, DQ has been subjected to so many insults and missiles from various camps that it must be an embarrassment to him and all well-thinking disciples of the sport who are genuinely concerned about Jamaica's image on the global front.
Quarrie's accomplishments are well known. There is evidence of the awe in which he continues to be held in the global leadership of the track and field community as well as by fans. As Tracey reflected in his commentary last Sunday night, his was for many years the face of Jamaica's track and field programme.
I recall that he was adjudged number one on the list of top achievers in the decade of the 1970s/80s by the self-acclaimed 'bible of the sport' Track and Field News. Indeed, every year for at least a decade, Jamaicans could expect to see his name on one or both of the 100/200 metres top-ten lists.
Even before he hung up his spikes, Don Quarrie was a key figure in securing the involvement of many international icons in celebrated meets hosted in Jamaica, including the Martin Luther King and the Manley games.
He has continued to serve in that vein on the Howard Aris management team of the more recent annual Jamaica Invitational meet. It may be that more recent icons like Mills and Bolt are equally well-positioned to fill that role these days, but Quarrie's proven expertise and commitment in that regard ought not to be lightly treated.
The ongoing issue of the JAAA election campaign continues to be in vogue. Unlike former Executive Robert Stephens, I do recall an even more volatile impasse in the JAAA in earlier years. I see nothing wrong in different camps presenting a slate of candidates, although Grace Jackson's approach is a bit different and perhaps in some ways a more novel one.
I will have more to say later on, but there are rumblings of an underlying issue driving the campaigns, that of a contest for the endorsement of one shoe manufacturing company over another. It seems that Puma's decades-old hold on the JAAA market may be under siege.
In the interim, the Warren Blake camp has released its vaguely written, if glossy manifesto, long on promises but woefully short on specifics.
I can't recall at any stage when the JAAA has produced a comprehensive programme with objectives, income and expenditure covering at least a year of activities. Given the questions by members from the floor on Saturday, I would suspect that no such programme exists. I would also love some clear indication that the JAAA's leadership understands the significance of some of the glaring issues facing the fraternity.
Some of the issues in urgent need of attention are: doping control, especially as it relates to overseas-based athletes; and the pace of development of our female athletes. This year for the first time the Bahamas appear to be challenging us comprehensively in this domain, long dominated by Jamaica. Also, are there plans to revive the training camp for juniors?
It's not enough to say, “Yes, we have plans”, in response to questions from the floor. The JAAA must show us the progammes. Track and field is important, not only to its community of fans and the JAAA, but to the country's social and economic health agenda.
I trust that the other two teams will disclose their programme priorities, even if not a published manifesto, in moving forward. They should at least commit to doing so in the first quarter of their administration. In this way, voters would be given a much clearer basis on which to cast their vote.
antoye@gmail.com
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...#ixzz2DBEShRtu
Clare Forrester
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
CVM Television's Wayne Walker is a sports journalist on whom one can usually depend to “call a spade a spade”. I applaud him for that. In the wake of the ongoing saga related to the upcoming Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) elections, I carefully followed reports from media houses, especially those which command strong audience support.
Walker is unique in providing television viewers with a clear, unmitigated conclusion to the question about which every sports desk had tantalised their audiences all week. Who was speaking the truth in the Donald Quarrie/Glen Mills/Dr Warren Blake impasse?
Mills, in responding to allegations made by Quarrie that he (Mills) had threatened not to support Dr Blake if Quarrie was on his slate, denied that claim. Those who had been following the issue will recall that media stories repeatedly called on Dr Blake to “clear the air'” in order for the public to know wherein lies the truth.
Well, Dr Blake responded in his address at a function at the Knutsford Court Hotel on Saturday afternoon to launch his campaign manifesto. His response confirmed the veracity of Quarrie's account. Truth, we are told, is the opposite of lies. But, as in this case, there are so many different ways one can look at things. In actuality, as someone once wrote, “there can be more than just one truth.”
Throughout much of last week every media house repeatedly drew attention to Quarrie's explanation for his omission from Blake's slate of candidates. Mills, perhaps understandably, denied Quarrie's account in a more wide-reaching statement that chided the administration about the decision to include an apparently injured Jermaine Gonzales on the 4x400-metre relay team at the London Olympics.
On Saturday, Blake came clean, at least on the Quarrie/Mills issue. One could gather from his statement that he did say something like that to Quarrie although he may (or may not) have called Mills' name. Clearly, the omission of Mills’ name while pointing in the direction of that camp was not necessarily a difficult thing to do. Hence the CVM report.
I watched the sports news on TVJ on Saturday evening and in my view whoever wrote or produced that story chose not to step on any corns. That report merely recalled the impasse and then invited viewers to listen to the words of the JAAA president and draw their own conclusion.
To be fair, they have promised more in their Eye on Sport programme scheduled for airing on Monday of this week. The Jamaica Observer report was even less forthcoming, except that it seemed to give the outgoing president a pass. Its banner headline focused on the Gonzales issue: ‘Blake clears the air on Gonzales affair’, and it proffered no conclusion on the Quarrie/Mills issue. The Gleaner had even less to report, if anything at all, in following up on this issue. All of this should generate concerns about how the media gatekeepers select issues for the national conversation agenda. Simply stated, it is a bit disconcerting.
On both the Gonzales and the DQ issues, Blake indicates that it is time to move on, as those events are history, although he did promise a report. Judging from his statements to date, one expects “more of the same” in the promised report on this issue.
Voting members of JAAA should determine whether or not they are comfortable with that position. From a media perspective, I think the response so far to the Gonzales issue is unacceptable. The public has a right to know a lot more on this; the explanations given so far do not wash.
Regarding Donald Quarrie, I do believe that Dr Blake has the right to exclude whoever he wishes from his slate, and I would have preferred if Donald had accepted that decision and moved on. After all, he was offered the position of international relations officer, assuming the Blake camp succeeds. That would not necessarily be a bad thing, as the records should show that therein lies Quarrie's greatest strength in his post-track years.
Like Oral Tracey, I maintain that Don Quarrie's iconic status ought to command greater respect nationally. Regrettably, DQ has been subjected to so many insults and missiles from various camps that it must be an embarrassment to him and all well-thinking disciples of the sport who are genuinely concerned about Jamaica's image on the global front.
Quarrie's accomplishments are well known. There is evidence of the awe in which he continues to be held in the global leadership of the track and field community as well as by fans. As Tracey reflected in his commentary last Sunday night, his was for many years the face of Jamaica's track and field programme.
I recall that he was adjudged number one on the list of top achievers in the decade of the 1970s/80s by the self-acclaimed 'bible of the sport' Track and Field News. Indeed, every year for at least a decade, Jamaicans could expect to see his name on one or both of the 100/200 metres top-ten lists.
Even before he hung up his spikes, Don Quarrie was a key figure in securing the involvement of many international icons in celebrated meets hosted in Jamaica, including the Martin Luther King and the Manley games.
He has continued to serve in that vein on the Howard Aris management team of the more recent annual Jamaica Invitational meet. It may be that more recent icons like Mills and Bolt are equally well-positioned to fill that role these days, but Quarrie's proven expertise and commitment in that regard ought not to be lightly treated.
The ongoing issue of the JAAA election campaign continues to be in vogue. Unlike former Executive Robert Stephens, I do recall an even more volatile impasse in the JAAA in earlier years. I see nothing wrong in different camps presenting a slate of candidates, although Grace Jackson's approach is a bit different and perhaps in some ways a more novel one.
I will have more to say later on, but there are rumblings of an underlying issue driving the campaigns, that of a contest for the endorsement of one shoe manufacturing company over another. It seems that Puma's decades-old hold on the JAAA market may be under siege.
In the interim, the Warren Blake camp has released its vaguely written, if glossy manifesto, long on promises but woefully short on specifics.
I can't recall at any stage when the JAAA has produced a comprehensive programme with objectives, income and expenditure covering at least a year of activities. Given the questions by members from the floor on Saturday, I would suspect that no such programme exists. I would also love some clear indication that the JAAA's leadership understands the significance of some of the glaring issues facing the fraternity.
Some of the issues in urgent need of attention are: doping control, especially as it relates to overseas-based athletes; and the pace of development of our female athletes. This year for the first time the Bahamas appear to be challenging us comprehensively in this domain, long dominated by Jamaica. Also, are there plans to revive the training camp for juniors?
It's not enough to say, “Yes, we have plans”, in response to questions from the floor. The JAAA must show us the progammes. Track and field is important, not only to its community of fans and the JAAA, but to the country's social and economic health agenda.
I trust that the other two teams will disclose their programme priorities, even if not a published manifesto, in moving forward. They should at least commit to doing so in the first quarter of their administration. In this way, voters would be given a much clearer basis on which to cast their vote.
antoye@gmail.com
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...#ixzz2DBEShRtu
Fi real!! Real money is talking now, and that is the truth!!
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