Tony Becca
KEN GORDON is known around the region as a skilled and astute businessman.
He certainly has been a successful businessman and, as difficult as it may be, cricket fans, including this one, are hoping, and praying, that as the president of the West Indies Board, he will live up to his reputation. We hope and pray he will be positive and fearless and lead the change that is necessary in the administration of West Indies cricket.
So far, however, and certainly based on his and the board's attitude towards the Lucky Report, Gordon has shown no inclination of being positive. In fact, he is off to a shaky start.
Instead of starting confidently, instead of looking for opportunities to score, Gordon, like a slow, cautious opening batsman, seems prepared to wait and see, to let half-volleys go unpunished, and by doing so, may well have missed a wonderful opportunity to set the tone for his presidency.
UNDER FIRE
Coming in as the president of a board that is under fire following all kinds of accusations re its sponsorship deal with Digicel and its treatment of former sponsors Cable & Wireless, Gordon made it clear that one of his priorities was to settle that problem, and in a bid to deal with the problem, the board set up a three-man committee headed by Justice Anthony Lucky.
Like Lucky, the other two members, Avondale Thomas and Gregory Georges, were hand-picked, and their mandate was to look into what had transpired during the negotiations, and to review and examine all correspondence, transactions, communications, minutes, con-tracts, records, arrangements and any other relevant information concerning the negotiations for the renewal of the sponsorship arrangement with Cable & Wireless and the negotiations and conclusion of the sponsorship arrangement with Digicel.
They were to determine whether the board had treated Cable & Wireless fairly during the negotiations; whether an improper relationship existed between the board and Digicel; whether the new sponsorship arrangement was in the best interest of the board and the continued development of cricket in the West Indies; and, whether payments had been improperly accepted by members of the board as an inducement.
The board also authorised the committee to investigate any activity within its terms of reference, and to seek any information it required from any board member, sub-committee member or employee of the board. In doing so, it also instructed those persons to co-operate with the committee. Most importantly, it promised to make the committee's report public. And the fans cheered. To the fans, something new was about to happen in West Indies cricket and thanks to the new president.
Unfortunately for West Indies cricket, it turned out to be the same old story of the board protecting itself and apparently its members.
After a series of interviews with board members and anyone who had anything to do with the negotiations, the committee presented its report to the board.
The report, among other things, condemned the board for its treatment of Cable & Wireless, and for the manner in which the deal with Digicel was conducted. It also accused some board members of failing to co-operate and it accused the board of being inefficient.
In its response, the board rejected a number of the committee's findings including that which said the Digicel contract was "legally flawed", and that which said that Cable & Wireless was "treated unfairly" in the negotiations.
ATTACK
In dismissing the report, the board also objected to what it called an attack on the integrity of some of its members.
No report is ever perfect and there may well be shortcomings in the Lucky Report.
What is important, however, is that the committee came up with its findings after a lot of work, after many, many interviews with those involved in the negotiations, and most of the findings appear a true reflection of what took place. It is strange that instead of accepting them and dealing with them, the board, and its president, is willing to throw the report through the window.
Apart from the fact that it would prove that Gordon missed a great opportunity to protect his reputation and to steer the board in the right direction, in the interest of West Indies cricket the evidence should be revealed and the chips should lay where they fall. As far as the board is concerned, that really would be something new in West Indies cricket.
