PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Combative players union, WIPA, has slammed comments by UWI Cave Hill principal Sir Hilary Beckles describing former captain Chris Gayle’s brand of leadership, and has called for his immediate resignation as a West Indies Cricket Board director.
In a letter of UWI’s Chancellor and Vice Chancellor, WIPA, which is headed by chief executive Dinanath Ramnarine, has also asked the institution to investigate Sir Hilary’s comments.
WIPA argued that Sir Hilary unfairly compared Gayle to alleged Jamaican crime boss Christopher “Dudus” Coke, during a recent lecture in St Kitts labelled, “Frank Worrell: The Rise And Fall Of West Indies Cricket”.
“Frank Worrell is the Father of the Nation, Sobers is the King of Cricket, Clive Lloyd is the Statesman, Richards is the General of the Army, Brian Lara is the Prince, and Chris Gayle is the Don,” Sir Hilary said.
“And these are very interesting images indeed because the movement from the father to the Don and, and those who follow him and his cohort in the team do relate to him as their Don, and he has brought it is said, the Don-manship into how ‘tings’ operate in the team.
“And what the West Indies Board is trying to do at the moment is to uproot this Don-manship out of the culture in much the same way that the Jamaican people are trying to uproot Dudus from their politics … the comparisons are very interesting indeed.”
In a letter to the WICB calling for Sir Hilary’s resignation, WIPA said it had lost confidence in Sir Hilary and believed his comments about Gayle could damage the Jamaica’s reputation and hinder his relationship with Jamaica and West Indies teams.
WIPA has also written to chairman of CARICOM, Grenada’s Prime Minister Tillman Thomas, to complain about Sir Hilary’s remarks.
