National basketball Federation suspends Linden affiliate

Oct 22, 2013 Sports

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– for failing to uphold disciplinary ruling on Roberts

 

By Edison Jefford
Good news in women basketball for Guyana across its eastern border was curtailed domestically with an unfortunate suspension of the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) over its complete disregard of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) ruling on the Dwayne ‘Sugar’ Roberts matter.

The historic success of Guyana’s women basketball team at the Inter-Guiana Games in Suriname over the weekend, the culmination of a local visit from Suriname’s Yellowbirds male and female basketball clubs and the conclusion of the GABF-sponsored FIBA Level II Coaches Course here in Guyana were all positive developments for basketball over the last five days, but those will be unfortunately overshadowed this brewing controversy.
The national Federation wrote the LABA on Sunday, informing them of its suspension decision as a result of the Linden subsidiary’s failure to comply with a decision the Federation had made to reinstate Roberts following a disciplinary hearing.
“This letter is to inform you that the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation suspends the Linden Amateur Basketball Association with immediate effect. This suspension is in direct result of your decision to disregard GABF’s ruling to have Dwayne Roberts reinstated to the LABA with all the rights and privileges afforded to all members of your association,” the GABF letter said.
The suspension of the Linden sub-association comes on the heels of a decision that Roberts club, Retrieve Raiders, had taken last week to not play a game in a recent LABA tournament without him after the GABF had reinstated Roberts following an inquiry.
The national federation had convened a disciplinary hearing for Roberts following his infraction last year where he was accused of reportedly throwing a basketball that “injured” referee, Lloyd Ross during a Retrieve Raiders versus Kings game in the BOSAI Minerals Open Challenge.
Roberts was initially banned for six months from basketball and all related activities and fined $15,000. It was increased to six years in January when he was accused of publicly accosting the long-standing LABA Secretary, Joseph Chapman at the MSC Court, after which, Roberts sought the intervention of the Federation.

However, Chapman is contending that the Disciplinary Committee that was set up to intervene in Roberts’ issue was illegal, and as such, the LABA will not submit to its ruling. According to the correspondence this newspaper has seen, Chapman believe the GABF acted unconstitutionally at best when it set up the disciplinary hearing.
“Be aware that the LABA, its Referees Committee and other related basketball stakeholders in and out of Linden are resisting your imposition of uplifting the suspension of Mr. Dwayne Roberts, hence the LABA maintains that Mr. Roberts will not be allowed to represent his club until such time that we are convinced otherwise that this ban should not be enforced,” Chapman said in a letter to the national Federation.
He also questioned the legitimacy of the Federation to intervene in such a matter, noting what he called “the scant regard” to some questions about the functioning of the GABF, where the LABA have supposedly identified that there is no account of the Federation’s stewardship and no annual reports for the past four years.
Chapman said in his missive to the Federation that he is looking forward to them first addressing those concerns before getting to the Roberts issue. But notwithstanding Chapman’s assertion, the GABF slapped the Linden sub-association with an open-ended suspension as the governing body for basketball in Guyana. “Please note that all LABA basketball activities are also suspended (including any now unsanctioned tournaments in process), and any player, referee or official who participates in any LABA activities will themselves be subject to sanctions,” the GABF suspension letter noted. It meant that Sunday night’s final between Kings and Jets in a Trophy Stall-sponsored tournament was null and void.
The federation suggested that the LABA reconsiders its position relating to the decision that they had

made and advised that they move forward in the interests of basketball.
In addition, the federation was pellucid that its decisions must be respected.
“(The GABF decisions must be respected) in this case, particularly, as the final arbiter in appeals especially when an independent tribunal is the basis of its decisions; this suspension shall remain in full force and effect until LABA has communicated to the Federation that it will adhere to our decision in the Dwayne Roberts Disciplinary Matter,” the GABF informed.

 

 

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