….“Their act is noting but unpatriotic and it’s a disgrace to not only boxing but sports in this country,” – GABA boss Steve Ninvalle
THEY left as a team bound for the 19th Commonwealth Games in India but came back three athletes short on Sunday, as it was made known that Clevon Rock , Devon Boatswain and Dexter Jordan; Guyana’s only three representatives in Boxing, absconded while in transit at New York’s John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport.
A press conference was held at Water Chris Hotel in Georgetown yesterday by the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) where President Steve Ninvalle expressed his disappointment by the boxer’s action.

In a sour voice and upsetting facial expression, Ninvalle said, “words cannot describe how I am feeling right now, because its guys that we (GABA) have become family with and I think their acts are nothing but unpatriotic and it’s a disgrace to not only boxing but sports in this country.”

According to Ninvalle, who was present with the members of his GABA executives, the boxers were not reported to be unmannerly during their two weeks in Delhi India for the Commonwealth Games and were applauded for being on good behaviour.

It was also noted that they were unarguably the best the country has to offer at the amateur division and have all excelled over the years, competing at several major events with a great deal of success.

Rock in 2008 solidify his name in the history books when he became the first Guyanese to win a Junior Commonwealth Games medal with his silver medal performance when the games was held in Pune, India.

For his efforts, he was named junior sports man of the year at the National Sports Commission (NSC) annual national Sports award.

Jordan on the other hand won silver at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Puerto Rico earlier this year.

“The upsetting thing is that all of these boxers have all been issued American visas on several occasions,” Ninvalle expressed yesterday adding that “when we think about their move, it’s just ridiculous.”

It was explained that the three boxers along with the entire Guyanese contingent all arrived in New York from India and had a ten hours waiting time before boarding their flight back to Guyana.

With time on hand, everyone seized the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the ‘Big Apple’ and do some shopping and a special time was given for their return.

Everyone else returned at the stipulated time except for Jordan and Rock since Boatswain returned and was even complaining the coach (Terrence Pool) that he couldn’t have found his fellow boxers.

But little did they know that Boatswain was planning a getaway of his own. Pool explained that he was in charge of the boxers after Ninvalle had a different travelling arrangement and would have had an extra day in New York.

The coach told the local media that Boatswain said that he had lost his boarding pass and the two was in deliberations with the airline when Boatswain said that he was going to the wash room and never return when the flight was boarding.

“This is sad because it meant that these boxers had probably planned their move before but again I say that it’s stupid because take Rock for example, he got through to leave permanently and these guys had several visas in their passport,” Pool said.

“I’m a bit more disappointed in Rock, because he’s a very good fighter, they all are but he had a bit more experience and would have travelled along this route a bit more than the other fighters.
He got other visas in his passport, I really don’t know what these guys are thinking, really” Pool added.

The parents and relatives of the boxers have since been contacted but up to press time, nothing was said about knowing their whereabouts.

When quizzed by this newspapers  if any family member or friend overseas were contacted by the boxers, Ninvalle said, “well almost everyone have relatives or friends in the U.S., but I cant say if they had influenced them to make that move, but I can say is that something or someone encouraged them.”

According to Ninvalle, who also holds the post of Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Sports, the relevant authorities in both Guyana and the USA were immediately summoned and they are carrying out investigations.

It’s not the first time that sports men/women from these shores have made an easy passage to the USA or the Land of Endless possibilities as some might describe one of the world’s most powerful nations, as it was stated that the only time a full compliment of athletes have returned after competing at major games was those who represented Guyana at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.