Dazzling 22-year-old muscleman Shaquile Lavine has been slapped with a six-month suspension by the Barbados Amateur Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (BABBFF).
Lavine has been penalised for his unsportsmanlike gesture at the medal presentation for Mr Bridgetown at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, two weeks ago when he finished behind Ramon Broomes and Kirk Alleyne.
When MC Kirk Brown announced Lavine for third place, he collected his medal from renowned bodybuilding champion of the 1970s Darcy Beckles, threw it on the floor and then stomped off stage to the the dismay of fans who included Justice Pamela Beckles and international singer Eddy Grant.
Will miss nationals
The suspension will rule out Lavine for the rest of the year, meaning he will miss the nationals and the Darcy Beckles Invitational Classic, both of which he won last year.
BABBFF president Dr Alfred Sparman said the federation was compelled to act.
“I sympathise with him but you can’t disrespect the judges, sponsors, fans and the members of the federation. We had to send a message, that unsportsmanlike behaviour will not be tolerated,” Sparman said.
A three-man disciplinary committee that comprised former IFBB pro Earl Maynard, Kathy-Ann Greenidge and Cassandra Hinds, met and recommended a six-month suspension which was ratified by the BABBFF.
“We had to act. He is the future, but had to be penalised because he let down the fans, who should not have been subjected to that kind of behaviour.”
He is also require to submit a written letter of apology to the BABBFF which must be completed and sent before May 31.
Lavine found it tough at this year’s Mr Bridgetown facing two men in prime form. Broomes more than matched him for muscle and Alleyne outgunned him for size.
A product of Vauxhall, Christ Church, Lavine, has come through the ranks winning every junior contest, including Mr Schoolboy before capturing the Mr Teenager and Mr Bridgetown in 2015, becoming one of only four men to win both shows in the same night.
Sparman also announced that the amendments have been made to the constitution which allows an executive to serve a four-year term. It was given a huge thumbs up by the clubs, who voted 20-0 at a meeting held at Blue Horizon Hotel on May 19.
“All of the members clubs have agreed to it. With this change, I will now serve as president for four years instead of two. The people are very proud of what we are doing and want to give us four years to make things happen.
Clubs happy
“We gave the the clubs the reasons for the change and they are happy. There were some discrepancies in the constitution which had to be dealt with. We also had a constitution which was never signed, I found it hard to understand how that obtained for so many years, so I had lawyers put together the constitution properly and we extend it to coincide with the four years of the IFBB and the regional CAC so everything is synchronised,” he said.
Sparman told Sunsport that his presidency term would now run until 2022.
The heart specialist acted as president from last August before he was ratified as president on a 27-1 vote by club delegates three months ago. (MK)
