BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE strict enforcement of St. Kitts Amateur Basketball Association (SKABA) rules continued yesterday (Apr. 30) as Rams Hitters’ starting guard Ansel ‘Bonzi’ Revan received a two-year suspension for physically and verbally attacking match officials.
According to a statement issued by the SKABA Games Committee to Rams Hitters Head Coach James ‘Barman’ Hanley, the decision to suspend Revan came after two separate incidents this week in which he attacked match officials.
“On Monday 26, April 2010 during the game Hitters vs Blue Devils, your player Ansel Revan verbally abused the referee Mr. Grason Richards from behind the fence. Although he was spoken to by the said referee he made no attempt to cease with such abuse,” the document states.
Verbal abuse against a match official carries a minimum penalty of a two-game suspension, but the letter goes on to state that Revan continued his assault on the integrity of the game on Wednesday (Apr. 28) night.
“On Wednesday 28, April 2010 during a Basketball Championship matchup against Fig Tree ‘Behive’ vs Rebels in Challengers where your player Ansel Revan who at the time was participating in such competition physically abused the Referee Mr. Rawlston Richardson by shoving/ chucking him in the chest.”
The game was stopped as a result of Revan’s physical attack on Richardson and the Games Committee determined that it would “not tolerate any such behavior from players”. In keeping with SKABA rules Article 3, subsection (vi) Revan was banned from competition for two years and Rams Hitters was fined EC $1000, which is to be paid by May 7.
Revan’s two-year suspension would effectively begin on May 16 after his two-game ban for the first incident is served.
A release issued subsequent to Revan’s punishment being made public quoted SKABA General-Secretary Wallis Wilkin as stating that league rules will continue to be enforced strictly as the association raises its professional standard.
“SKABA is striving to raise the standard of the game through a number of initiatives and chief among these is to raise the standard of the behavior of players and the safety and security of our officials.
“Players must at all times exhibit self-control and at all times act in a manner that reflects positively on the SKABA, as all players are ambassadors of SKABA and must act accordingly at all times,” Wilkin said.
The strict enforcement of SKABA rules and regulations has been a point of public discussion since the league opened its season in April with the banning of Ghetto Roots’ Dale Rochester over illegal headwear.
While there has been much public outcry over the harsh enforcement of rules, members of the SKABA executive have repeatedly stated that the advancement of basketball in St. Kitts-Nevis is dependent upon increasingly putting forth professional competition to the public.
