… captain calls for players to be respected

THERE are two sides to every story and more often than not, somewhere in the middle you will find the truth. This statement is applicable as we embark on finding the truth behind the alleged ‘revolt’ the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) president Nigel Hinds reported they faced from the Men’s National team in Tortola.

Hinds, had told Chronicle Sport in an article published yesterday, that “All CBC teams to the best of my knowledge received stipends from their Federation, except Guyana, (and) for our men’s team, it created great disquiet. GABF management was faced with a revolt against management, by players who were told no stipend was available before they left Guyana.”
He said that while the women too were not given any stipend, the men decided to keep their uniform inciting cataclysm.
But this is not the case, according to captain Rawle Marshall, when contacted. Marshall is the first Guyana-born NBA player (with the Dallas Mavericks and Indiana Pacers) and he is (so far) the highest profile player to represent the Land of Many Waters at the CBC tournament.
His all-round outstanding statistics at the tournament which Guyana placed fifth placed him in talks to be the best player at the event but he might have scored a couple more points for his role of being a leader more so off the court than on it.
The player, who now plies his trade in Europe, told Chronicle Sport that he was the one that instructed the team to keep their uniform, stating that the GABF was not respectful in handling the team and had levied the tone of dictatorship on the president’s behalf.
Marshall said that his issue with the GABF came even before the team departed, when he had asked for the 12 players who will play be named so that the team can properly gel.
Added to that, he had queried about the team’s stipend, telling the GABF president that he was asking out of concern for the players.
After being told that the GABF was not in a position to provide some means of remuneration, the players put it to rest and focused on their ultimate goal which was to win the CBC tournament.
Upon reaching the British Virgin Island (BVI) with a 15-man squad, the team, a few hours before the start of their first game had chosen to play with point guard Andre DeFlorimonte as they await the inquiry into a FIBA errant that kept forward Gordon Klaiber off the court.
However, Marshall said that after the team’s decision was related to Hinds, the GABF president had first told them to boycott the tournament in protest. It was then conveyed to Hinds that a US$10 000 fine would have been handed to Guyana, but Marshall told Chronicle Sport that the GABF president was prepared to either pay or deal with the consequences.
‘These guys didn’t come all the way here, I didn’t come all the way to the BVI to not play, so we made the adjustment, after Hinds insisted that Klaiber should play and not ‘Dre’ (DeFlorimonte). We said okay, so be it and played,” said Marshall.
Guyana would go on to lose their first three games even though the team had performed as expected, but Marshall said, “To me, we lost two and a half games. The game against Barbados, we lost that in the first half but the guys played like I know they could and we rebounded.”
After winning their remaining games by more than 20 points each, Guyana finished fifth place, but Marshall said the off-the-court trouble had only just begun.
The uniforms were reported in all sections of the media to be sponsored by John Fernandes Limited and the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) but the GABF in an email had then said the uniforms were paid for by Patrick Haynes.
“I told the guys I will be keeping my uniform and I instructed them to do the same because all the along, we kept asking about stipend and the president (Hinds) was more concerned about the uniform. I said to him, ‘Look, tell me how much these things cost and I’ll pay for them now, but then I laughed when they told me the price and I asked if I look like a fool’.” Marshall noted.
“I don’t think money was an issue,” Marshall said as he explained that the GABF president had offered him US$400.
“I couldn’t have accepted that, I had to ask them what do I look like and that’s no money to me, but I can’t accept something knowing that the other guys weren’t getting anything. So I walked away from it and told the players that they had offered me money.”
After stating his willingness to work and aid in the development of Guyana’s basketball, the former NBA player said, “The players had asked for a number of things to be addressed and the GABF president was only concerned about the uniforms, saying that have to use them again.
“Those things got guys’ names on them and I’ve never played on a team where I have to give back uniforms and I’ve been around a long time. I can help, I’m willing to help but the players have to be treated better and get respect”

(By Rawle Toney)