Dear Editor,
I have tried a few times to alert West Indian cricket people to the liberties foreign journalists take with West Indian cricketers. I got the distinct impression that, for whatever reason, those people with influence would prefer not to concern themselves with this issue. I suspect it may have something to do with the fact that the current crop of West Indian cricketers have not had much success in traditional international cricket. I had decided not to continue to raise the subject until I read that Geoff Lawson, a former Australian cricketer and currently a broadcaster, at the end of the recent World Cup, had said possibly defamatory things about Marlon Samuels, including in relation to his connections back in the West Indies. “He is a guy you don`t muck around with on and off the field…” said Lawson.
If West Indian cricket people do nothing to protect their cricketers, these sorts of attack will go on. They owe the cricketers and the region a duty to defend the players from the worst of this sort of stuff. Litigation is very costly, so the players should not be left to bear the worst of these attacks by themselves.
Yours faithfully,
Romain Pitt
