The Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board’s clarification earlier this week of what had until then been labelled a sexual abuse case involving an official and a youth cricketer, has still left a certain level of unease across the country.
Of biggest concern was TTCB CEO Suruj Ragoonath’s refusal to answer any questions on the topic, which had been a burning one since the story of the alleged act during a regional under-19 tournament in St Vincent broke months ago.
It was of interest because of two main issues, the alleged sexual abuse of an athlete left in the care of adults and of the TTCB’s apparent malaise in dealing with this particular issue, as it was said to have been reported by the cricketer since August.
When Mr Ragoonath announced in Tuesday’s press conference that the player, in company with his mother, had since indicated it was not a sexual assault complaint, what transpired thereafter was unacceptable.
Mr Ragoonath notified journalists present that the ‘new’ matter was now before the board’s disciplinary committee, but refused to clarify what those new circumstances were, although berating the local and regional media for getting the report of sexual abuse wrong in the first place.
In effect therefore, the public now has more questions than answers based on information previously in the public domain.
Herein lies the complicated mess in which the TTCB now finds itself. In what little Mr Ragoonath did explain, he said the player did make a complaint but it was not over sexual misconduct by the official; that the matter was not reported to the Children’s Authority because the player was 18, nor was it reported to the police and that the official who was accused sought advice from a lawyer and spoke through the lawyer in denying the sex abuse claim. The TTCB also stands accused of being forced to act by the media’s reportage of it, having not done anything before those reports broke, having claimed they only caught sight of the complaint letter in October, although it was written immediately upon the player’s return from a tournament in July.
Needless to say, Mr Ragoonath has left more questions than answers on a very sensitive matter.
Abuse of children left in the care of adults of any kind is indefensible. When it is done by people in the sporting fraternity it is even worse.
This is because many such adults—among them coaches, managers, physiotherapists and trainers—wield a lot of influence and share many close moments with young and old athletes alike in the course of their exploits, because of the gamut of emotions which sport take those athletes through.
Only recently we have had the accounts of former professional footballers in England, who finally came out to tell their stories of sexual abuse by coaches while in their youth. We would have read of the trauma they experienced and of how it deeply has affected their emotional lives to this day.
We are also familiar with similar scandals which rocked the US sport fraternity. Importantly here though, is how the authorities, including the police, quickly moved to hold the perpetrators accountable for their actions.
This is why we hope the TTCB is being forthright in how it is dealing with this matter and not closing ranks to protect the official, since only they and the parties involved, who remain unnamed, are aware of the truth in the matter. The trust of young athletes now lies in the balance based on this current case.