BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – DECISION from the St. Kitts Amateur Basketball Association (SKABA) Appeals Board came down yesterday (Apr. 23) on Ghetto Roots player Dale Rochester and it was determined that he will no longer be able to play in the national league with his religious head wrap.
Rochester is a practicing member of the Bobo Shanti faith and is required by his religion to have his dreadlocks covered in a wrapping whenever he is in public, including at games for the returning Premier Division champions.
Controversy has surrounded the mild-mannered basketballer since the April 11 opening of the LIME SKABA League when association President James ‘Barman’ Hanley announced that the matter would go before an Appeals Board, which was subsequently established by the SKABA executive.
Rochester is said to be in violation of FIBA rule section 4.4.2, which states that “players shall not wear equipment (objects) that may cause injury to other players” and cites “headgear, hair accessories and jewelry” as prohibited items.
The Appeals Board, which was comprised of Table Tennis Association President Lester Ible, former basketballer Arthur ‘Garfield’ Jeffers and St. Kitts-Nevis Olympic Committee Treasurer Glenn Quinlan as chairman, determined that Rochester was indeed in violation of the rule and should not be allowed to play with his head wear.
“In addition to the possible injury effect, there is also the matter of uniformity and the possibility that headgear worn by one player may make that player more recognizable and easier to pass to than others and is therefore to be justified on the grounds of fairness,” a section of the three page ruling reads.
The board drew heavy reference to a Swedish case with very similar circumstances in which a female player was not allowed to wear a headscarf in accordance with her faith as a Muslim.
In that case, religious discrimination was “not deemed to be perceptible” because the woman was only barred from wearing her headscarf in official league games and not in training sessions or games outside of the association.
“We believe a similar interpretation is valid in this local situation,” the Appeals Board stated in their decision.
The Board further stated that their views were in line with the Swedish ruling when it states that “the ban on wearing a headscarf during the games is, however, unambiguously derived from the official basketball regulations of FIBA which are internationally valid for all players”.
Response from members of the Ghetto Roots club was swift and Head Coach Dr. Garfield Alexander stated that he is “very disappointed” in the decision taken by the Appeals Board. He added that he still feels the matter should have been voted upon by the member clubs of SKABA.
“After all they (the teams and players) are the ones who are directly affected by Mr. Rochester and his head-wear.”
Assistant Coach Dwayne Sturge also criticized the decision in a published statement.
“Here we have a young man who is an upstanding law-abiding citizen of this country, who is being denied the opportunity to play the sport that he loves and is good at because of his religious beliefs.
“The decision came as no surprise to me. As I have mentioned before, the make-up of the committee was very concerning to me and the fact that SKABA selected the members with absolutely no input from Ghetto Roots strengthens my concern over the committee and their impartiality,” Sturge said.
The team reportedly met yesterday afternoon to discuss what action, if any, they would take now that Rochester has been barred from playing with his headwear.
