A Commentary
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE MAXIMUM SENTENCE conferred upon Kim Collins on the eve of the climax of a lifetime career continues to reverberate around the world and will resonate forever in the hearts of Kittitians and Nevisians who regard him as a ‘national hero’ above and beyond those who bear the name only within the confines of the Federation.
This punishment that was so arbitrarily conferred was not given to a fledgling athlete to bring him to heel, but to one of the most seasoned athletes of the world, who had been holding his country’s flag aloft in all the major capitals of the world – from Russia to Australia to Europe and countries not even known to his fellow nationals – and he had been doing this without the presence of the SKNOC officials.
His discipline throughout this time has been self-imposed; he has been following a punishing schedule over the last few months; he has been appearing for his races and winning for the past twenty years, recently alongside no lesser persons than world champions Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake. Collins became a world champion in 2003 and a Commonwealth champion just before that.
Last year (2011) at 35 years old, he gained bronze at Daegu at the World Championships in the 100 m finals.
And then here comes SKNOC and withdraws his accreditation, shutting him out of Olympic Village because he has stayed out of the Village too long “shacking up with his wife/coach”. In so doing, these local officials who themselves have never undergone the discipline of a world class athlete, conferred untold grief on him, his family, an entire nation and a world of fans when they need not have dispensed a maximum sentence on what many regard as a misdemeanour – he broke no international rule.
The mere fact that this story has been carried by every major international news network – AP, ESPN, BBC, Fox Sports, USA Today, Yahoo Sports etc – indicates that it is viewed as extraordinary.
Says Fox Sports, “Rules may be rules, but it’s tough to argue that this isn’t a ridiculous decision... I think it’s time some teams start rethinking their priorities in terms of rules governing the athletes’
Another reporter at the end of his article says, “Well, this sucks!”
A fellow world champion, Perdita Felicien exclaims "St. Kitts doesn't allow Kim Collins to start in the men's 100m ?! Your flag bearer?! A trail blazer & your national icon...Ludicrous!"
The claim that he Collins did not appear for registration and hence the SKNOC’s hands were tied also sounds ludicrous. The SKNOC officials outnumbered the athletes...surely seeing about registrations etc is one of their duties. Surely they could not believe that Kim Collins would just fail to show up for this major event
Yahoo Sports is reporting on a related story of “a medal hopeful Phillips Idowu who was missing for three weeks (not three days as Collins was) ... “On Saturday the triple jumper's equipment was delivered to the athletes' village and he made contact with team officials for the first time in two weeks.” There has been no report of the athlete being dis-accredited or withdrawn.
We would like the St. Kitts Nevis National Olympic Committee (SKNOC) to point out to us where in the history of Olympics has (1) a country pulled out an athlete before they tested positive by IOC? And (2) a country has eliminated its star athlete from performing for leaving Olympic Village because he found it preferable to sleep with his wife/coach at a nearby hotel?
Many are now delving for reasons to explain SKNOC’s zero tolerance and lack of empathy.
The answers vary:
Many have posited that a country that has not had a First Lady for some fifteen years cannot be expected to understand or pay much importance to a man’s need for his wife prior to important happenings in his life.
With regard to having zero tolerance, this is even more baffling. Even at government level can be found blatant aberrations – the Prime Minister absented himself from the country right after elections before he had even sworn in his Cabinet and while he was away, having left his country in a state of anarchy, he claimed it was ok to run the country from his blackberry.
Kim Collins has brought nothing but fame to his country, often without support at governmental level. He has been admired for his stamina, self-discipline and the millions of dollars in advertisement that he has brought to this country. For many in this world, St. Kitts is known only as the place from which Kim Collins comes.
"Do you know how many mornings I wake up, I could be in bed with my wife but I'm off training and winning, whenever, wherever, for this? I earned my right to be here,” said Collins to the UK Press Association.
"This is how it ends. It ends on a really sad note. I should have been allowed to run. I don't see what is the big deal,’ he said to BBC
We echo the comments of one writer after a news report on his elimination:
“You are a legend. Don't let some pencil pusher tarnish the end of your career.”
Suddenly St. Kitts and Nevis, who had been looking the other way while election results are fought out in Courts and not at the Polls, and where decisions in High Places are condoned even though they appear to be highly irregular, now wish to be seen as the “holiest country in all of the Olympics”.
It is now hard to decipher what is reasonable in St. Kitts and Nevis and what is not.
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