THE OLYMPIC GAMES. World Cups – both football and cricket. Elections in the United States.
They are indeed few things worth finding time to wait for everyfour years.
The chance to change the executives of sporting bodies, however, isn’t one of them.
Trust me when I say local basketball is of no exception more so than it’s the rule.
Carlos Moore, though, seems to think otherwise.
And what I’ve come to learn is that in Barbados, things often change when only one man thinks otherwise.
So naturally, the possibly outgoing Barbados Amateur Basketball Association (BABA) president expressed a desire to amend the constitution to allow for a change from two-year governing terms to four.
FIBA mandate
According to Moore, the world governing body [FIBA] mandates it so all their member associations can align with the cycles of the just concluded World Congress and by extension the World Championships.
And just after I was finished conducting the interview the change all made sense.
For once, I could see some direction in the BABA. A light bulb went on and the wheel was reinvented. I saw the advantages in ones and zeros as if they were a part of the Matrix.
A president and his council could set about building their own identity. Some sort of continuity would reign and an executive will be able to implement policies without fear of seeing them die one or two years later.
Basketball might actually see the development of a national programme as the coaches will have a shelf life longer than a single overseas tour.
It would result in the natural progression of our best young players, who would only profit under the organised structure of practising in a continual setup.
This had sliced bread written all over it.
But with all things, we humans can never foresee issues before they happen. Things very often make sense in theory.
Remember the West Indies Federation?
What issue could Brutus have in allowing Mark Anthony to speak at Caesar’s funeral?
Elevating Chris Gale in 2007 must’ve seemed natural to Ken Gordon.
Twenty-six years ago, no one questioned Portland’s decision to draft Sam Bowie.
But rather unlike Grantley Adams, Brutus, Gordon and the nuisance Trail Blazers executive who bypassed Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA draft, it took me just ten minutes and one Gay Griffith conversation to realise the error in my thinking.
Oh, if only everyone had the luxury of a Gay Griffith conversation.
Plus the common sense to benefit from it. Because it was at various points throughout the tête-à-tête with the former BABA boss that I remembered the vast shortcomings
of Moore’s administration, along with that of his predecessor Terry Inniss.
Not that dear Carlos doesn’t mean well or has been derelict in his duties. It’s just that as I write, his only cohorts who are currently functioning number around five – at most – out of a total of 13. This, less than completing two years in office.
The same thing befell Inniss’ governance.
Irrelevant
Could you imagine if this same cast had two more years left in office?
The stark reality is that FIBA’s mandate just isn’t really relevant to Barbados, much in the same way A’ Level maths has no relevance in my life.
Because, as Griffith correctly pointed out, without a full-time, paid staff on the executive, the sport will be at the mercy of volunteers who don’t even find time to govern effectively in two years.
They didn’t find the time to collect admission fees for three-quarters of the total number of nights the Premier League was played.
They didn’t find time to impose their rule over what is quickly becoming a self-governing body of referees.
But then again, how could that happen when they couldn’t even find time to attend their own council meetings?
I guess their time is extremely valuable. So let’s not waste two more years of theirs.
After all, they are a lot better things you can spend four years doing.
