By Telston Johnson
The Eastern America Cricket Association (EACA) season for 2014 ended on a very sour note. The leading New York cricket league’s past seasons were tarnished with various small incidents of indiscipline, which were probably overlooked by the administration. However, in 2014 these incidents escalated, and it seems as though the EACA Executives were incapable of handling them. At one game at Baisley “The Cage,” the tension was so high, that one player attacked another and physically assaulted him. The players of both teams verbally abused each other in the presence of the umpires and the EACA President, to the extent that the police had to be summoned and threatened to arrest the warring parties.
The League’s Executive Committee was forced by certain individuals to take action. They investigated the incident and took the appropriate disciplinary action against the teams and players involved. The aggressor in the physical assault was given a five-game suspension, which did not go down well with some in the higher circles, and the team he represents. The two teams and the other player were reprimanded and given a six months good behavior probation bond. Since the team with the aggressive player was one of the major players in the running of cricket in the League, the Executives came under heavy ridicule from the team’s captain, a former USA player, as well as others.
The same tension and disregard for discipline flowed over into the 2015 cricket season. In the very first game of the season, the captain and senior member of the team whose player was suspended decided to play the individual although he was still serving the suspension. According a reliable source, the team was severely pressuring the President Mr. Rudy Persaud to lift the suspension which he may have done unilaterally.
When contacted on Monday morning, the President indicated that he didn’t lift the suspension of the player, and the Executives would meet and decide a course of action against the player and the team. However, the President was contacted again on Wednesday, since no action was taken to-date. He indicated that he is still trying to get the Secretary and the Executives to meet, and this should be done before the end of the week. The Secretary was contacted and he indicated that the President contacted him on Monday and asked him to set up a conference call with the Executives for 8:00 pm. He subsequently sent out emails to arrange the call, but when he contacted the President at 7:30 pm expecting to make final arrangements for the call, the President indicated that the Vice President and Assistant Secretary/Treasurer preferred an in-person meeting. However, the president could not find an appropriate date and time for the in-person meeting.
I was informed, by reliable sources, that the President is reporting to persons outside of the Executive Committee of the EACA, and who would be meeting to decide on the consequences, if any, for the team and player, before any meeting with his Executives. The source also indicated that the President has already had phone conversations with the Vice President and Assistant Secretary/Treasurer, and the meeting with Executives would just be a formality. It would seem as though the President is just a figure head or as some might say, a rubber stamp. Is this how we boast about being the best league in the New York Region? Some teams are being penalized, while others can do no wrong, appears to be the motto of the EACA. God help the players.
My point in the matter is that we need to be fair to all players and clubs, regardless of their standing with the league. What kind of an example are we setting for those who look up to the Executives to do the right thing?
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