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VOLUME:117 No.158, JULY 14TH, 2020
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SPORT: BUDDY HOLES UP FOR NBA’S RESTART
OPEN TIL 9PM Five days after one company secured hours extension, others to...
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE Progressive Liberal Party has accused Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis of giving preferential treatment to the Myers Group by letting its restaurants remain open until 9pm while a general rule that businesses close by 8pm is in place. Attorney General Carl Bethel told The Tribune yesterday that an order has been prepared allowing all restaurants to remain open until 9pm, but up to press time last night an order concerning this had not been released. David Davis, the permanent secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, signed a letter dated July 9, 2020 addressed to George Myers, the chairman and CEO of the Myers Group, which said: “I refer to your letter dated 3rd July, 2020,
and in which you requested permission for your restaurant group (Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts and Anthony’s Caribbean Grill) to remain open until 9pm. Please be advised that the “competent authority,” the Most Hon Prime Minister, has approved your request.” PLP chairman Fred Mitchell said in response to the letter yesterday: “There is a letter making the rounds on social media where the competent authority approved an extension of operating hours to a number of fast food franchises owned by a single commercial entity. In our view this is par for the course with this administration given the selective manner in which the prime minister has consistently administered his government’s emergency orders.
CABLE AXES 87 STAFF ON FURLOUGH
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
CABLE Bahamas chief Franklyn Butler yesterday admitted that hopes the COVID-19 crisis would “be short term” have been dashed as the company permanently terminated 87 staff, saying the pandemic’s “harsh reality” meant it had no choice but to “right-size to survive”. The move, which cuts the combined workforce at Cable Bahamas and its Aliv mobile affiliate by 11.5 percent, is effectively turning the 96 temporary lay-offs unveiled in April into permanent separations.
SEE PAGE THREE
THE first day of the sitting of the national BJC and BGCSE exams had some challenges, according to Bahamas Union of Teachers president Belinda Wilson. The exams are controversially being held later than usual this year because of COVID-19 after months of school closures forced students to learn virtually. Mrs Wilson said she was informed that ministry officials were late to some schools; that some exams started late at least at one centre; that there was “little
to no social distancing and that workers were seen not wearing masks”; that students’ desks were not six feet apart and that classrooms were not cleaned. She said she was also told that some invigilators were informed on Sunday that they would not be used, that some of them were not trained and did not have their schedules, that some students did not have their timetables while others did not show up for their exams, that student participation was low and that 50 percent of the people who volunteered to assist were not used. SEE PAGE TWO
ANTONIA FINDS PLACE TO CHASE HER DREAMS
SEE PAGE EIGHT
UNION RAISES CONCERNS AS EXAMS GET UNDERWAY By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
FACE-TO-FACE
FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
WILL AND JADA - YOUR VERDICT WILL Smith’s marriage to Jada has made headlines around the world after the frank admission of their open relationship and her “entanglement” with R&B artist August Alsina. Yesterday, Will and Jada arrived in Nassau on holiday where their open marriage also has people talking. In Tribune Woman today, Bahamians give their views on a very modern Hollywood marriage.
PIZZA HUT EMPLOYEE HAS COVID
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
A PIZZA Hut employee in Grand Bahama was revealed yesterday to have COVID-19 as deep cleaning of the CA Smith complex began because a migrant with COVID19 was present on the premises. SEE PAGE THREE
JUDGES QUASH DOUBLE MURDER CONVICTION By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
THE Court of Appeal has overturned the convictions of two men who were found guilty of kidnapping and murdering a senior immigration officer and his girlfriend in 2013. The appellate court ruled that the trial judge’s failure to thoroughly investigate an altercation that occurred between the forewoman and an alternate juror of the accused men’s trial
ZINTWORN Duncombe during his trial created a “material irregularity” over the course of the proceedings.
On December 21, 2013, the decomposed remains of senior immigration officer Shane Gardiner and his girlfriend Tishka Braynen were found on the grounds of Newbold Farms in Fresh Creek, Andros. Both victims had been killed execution style and had each received a gunshot wound to the head. On March 29, 2016, Zintworn Duncombe and Cordero Saunders, along
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
SEE PAGE FIVE
PETER YOUNG
HARRY’S ATTACK ‘ILL-INFORMED & INACCURATE’
SEE PAGE NINE
PAGE 2, Tuesday, July 14, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
UNION RAISES CONCERNS AS EXAMS GET UNDERWAY from page one
BUT’S Belinda Wilson
“It is no surprise because Ministry of Education officials have difficulty implementing procedures under normal circumstances,” she said. “When education officials ignore common sense recommendations and best practices that have been tried and provided before in the Bahamas and other jurisdictions then what
can be expected? I just hope for the sake of our nation’s youth that the Ministry of Education gets its act together and review the mistakes of day one and improve (today) and the days and weeks ahead.” She said questions remain about the reliability, validity and integrity of the exams because of these reasons and because of the absence of Cambridge University’s involvement
and the role that institution plays in inspecting exam centres and providing oversight. Last month, more than 8,000 students and parents across the country signed an online petition calling for the cancellation of the national exams. In response, Education Minister Jeff Lloyd stressed that the exams are voluntary, adding that it is the “social, intellectual and legal responsibility” of the ministry to
make sure students can take the exams if they want to. Students taking the national exam must wear school uniforms, bring a government issued picture ID or a school photo ID, wear masks properly when entering the campuses and sanitise their hands at the entrance and get a temperature reading, according to education officials. Editorial View - Page 6
Dion enjoys taking a different route to his college By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net AFTER being accepted to Georgia State University, 18-year-old Dion Brown never imagined he would have to face a different freshman experience unlike most students entering their first year of college. Having just graduated from Kingsway Academy high school this year, Mr Brown thought he would spend his first year on campus, meeting new friends and adjusting to college life. But as universities around the world transition to online learning in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, many students pursuing a degree abroad have decided to remain at home and continue their studies through online classes. According to the New York Times, the ability for many international students to return to American campuses has been thrown into question after the Trump administration gave a directive that students whose classes were moving entirely online for the Fall would be stripped of their visas and required to leave the United States.
Speaking to The Tribune on how the pandemic has affected his college plans, Mr Brown said: “I spoke to my advisers and they told us that we have two options. They told us that it doesn’t make sense coming to the campus because it will be too much with the travel restrictions and getting a visa appointment. “And they told us that when you go to campus, you would probably only have a face-to-face class like once a month and the rest of the classes will be online. So for me, I will just continue with the online classes for the full year.” For the 18-yearold, having to transition to virtual learning for college will not be a new phenomenon. In March, the government mandated the closure of schools after the country recorded its first COVID19 case, resulting in many local institutions shifting to online classes. Speaking of the experience, he told The Tribune: “Like for me, I prefer being in the classroom where I can hear because that’s how I remember and soak in my knowledge, but some persons rather read a book or
rather watch videos. Some students felt like we weren’t really learning and just turning in an assignment to get a grade at the end of the day, so it was a huge adjustment and not even just with the learning side but our whole team.” The student said while it was not easy having to transition to virtual learning, he believes the experience has prepared him for when he starts his college studies online. “When we transitioned to online class (at Kingsway), it was first hard because you have (to have) that self-discipline to say ‘okay, well I need to log on to do my work’ so now, I kind of know how to have that full discipline to say ‘hey, I’m going to get some work done (or) I’m going to sit down on my laptop and I’m going to put in three hours or four hours today and get my work done,’” he told The Tribune. “So having to do work online for those few months really gave us some perspective for those few months as to how to actually navigate this online class thing and it’s not so scary as people thought it would be.” Hoping to study
marketing at Georgia State University for four years, Mr Brown said he will transfer to the Atlanta campus for his sophomore year. In the meantime, he plans to remain focused on his studies and keep a positive
attitude throughout it all. “I look at it as an opportunity for something else because I will be doing my online classes and it will be virtual so I wouldn’t have to have like Zoom classes so I would work on my own pace,” he said.
“Apparently, the lectures are recorded and whatever I have the time to go online, I just go online and do my assignment and complete the class like that. So, I will take that as opportunity like when I am home, I can look for a job related to my field or just to get experience while I’m home so I’ll have a real-life job experience while also getting my degree. “Because that’s all you can do because you can’t dwell on the setbacks, you have to use them to further yourself to do something great. You can’t just sit home and mope about. It’s other ways and avenues that you can use to better yourself throughout this situation.”
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, July 14, 2020, PAGE 3
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
Pizza Hut employee struck by COVID-19 from page one The CA Smith building houses the Passport Office, the Ministry of Education, the Customs Department and the Department of Immigration in Grand Bahama. Meanwhile, Grand Bahama reported two additional COVID-19 cases yesterday, bringing the nation’s toll to 113. The new cases are a 33-yearold woman with no history of travel and a 52-yearold man with no history of travel. Both of them are isolating at home. There have been eight new COVID-19 cases on Grand Bahama reported in less than a week. Pizza Hut announced that one of its workers tested positive for the virus and is in quarantine. “All employees exposed to the team member have been identified by the Ministry of Health and are in self-isolation,” the establishment posted on its Facebook page. “The health and well being of our team members and customers is our number one priority, especially in these uncertain times. As a precaution, we temporarily closed the restaurant for sanitisation by professionals.” Ministry of Health officials are expected to have a press conference today about the spike in cases. Meanwhile, former Grand Bahama minister, Senator Dr Michael Darville said yesterday the government’s communication on the pandemic has become inadequate. “It is very important that the acting minister of health, who was supposed to have an extensive press conference to articulate to the Bahamian people what’s going on, what are
THE LETTER from David Davis to George Myers
ROW OVER RESTAURANT OPENING HOURS from page one A CLOSED CA Smith complex yesterday Photo: Tim Aylen their impressions and how protocols in place and the they feel. Written speeches relevant personnel in place. are one thing but an open New cases are pretty much discussion with the media is what has happened throughnecessary so media can ask out the Caribbean but are the relevant questions,” Dr the clinics here ready, is the hospital ready, are the perDarville said. It was revealed last sonnel ready, are we doing week that one of the latest the necessary testing, are COVID-19 cases in Grand there proper protocols at Bahama is a undocumented the airport and what are we doing with isolation and migrant. Dr Darville said: “What quarantine? It’s imperative we hear is they’re doing that they articulate and let some contact tracing but the Bahamian people know the migrant community is so there wouldn’t be so much very elusive and you really fear and isolated concerns.” Ministry of Health don’t get all the facts but I think there’s much more officials also said in a stateinvolved than meets the ment yesterday that they eye. They need to be a bit are adding a new tab to more aggressive and do the daily COVID-19 dashmore random testing in that board to include people community because I don’t with COVID-19 that die a non-COVID-19 think the facts are coming for to the forefront as fast as reason. “There were two individwe need them to do.” He questioned whether uals who were previously all the protocols are in confirmed to have COVIDplace to prevent a major 19 who passed away,” the outbreak of the disease now ministry said. “A review that the country’s borders was completed with local and international personare reopened. “When they allowed inter- nel who confirmed that national flights to come in, it the deaths were not due to was common sense that we COVID-19.” Of the 113 positive cases, would run the risk of importing new cases so I’m not too 16 are in Grand Bahama, alarmed that we have new 83 are in New Providence, cases coming in the country,” one is in Cat Cay and 13 he said. “What I’m alarmed are from Bimini. Eleven about is it seems they are people have died due to not ready for them. It was COVID-19 while there are important to have all the 91 recovered cases.
TWO ON TRIAL FOR RUNNING FOOD SERVICES AFTER 8PM By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net TWO men who denied operating separate restaurants past 8pm as specified in COVID-19 emergency orders have been granted bail ahead of their trials. Vernal Major, 43, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes after he was accused of operating a lounge restaurant and bar on Bay Street around 8.20pm on July 10. He denied the charge and the matter was adjourned to November 5. Major was granted $1,500 bail in the interim. Kevin Surujlal, a permanent resident from Trinidad, was also accused of violating the emergency order for restaurant and food vendors that same night. The prosecution alleged Shipwreck Restaurant and Bar was still operating around 8.20pm without permission. He also pleaded not guilty and had his case adjourned to November 5. Surujlal was granted $1,500 bail. Yesterday, a man and woman also appeared before Magistrate Forbes for curfew violations. In the first incident, Jian Dorsett, 39, was charged after officers found him on Marathon Road around 12.30am on July 10. During the hearing,
he explained he lived with his grandparents, and his 93-year-old grandfather did not allow him to enter the house that morning. He claimed when he tried to go to his mother’s home, he was stopped by police. Magistrate Forbes said he would enter a not guilty plea for the defendant and adjourned the matter to September 24 for trial. Dorsett was released on $1,000 bail in the interim. In the second incident, Keia McPhee, 23, was charged after officers found her on Balfour Avenue around 12.50am on July 11. She pleaded guilty and was fined $500 or three months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. Prosecutor Lincoln McKenzie said when officers stopped and questioned McPhee on the morning in question, she told them she left her house to drop off a friend. During the hearing, McPhee also told Magistrate Forbes she did not intend to violate the curfew and claimed she did contact 311 before she left her home. Still, McPhee admitted that while the officials operating the COVID-19 hotline told her to wait, she decided to leave anyway because “the situation got very heated”.
“A certain liquor store could remain open while others were ordered closed. Certain restaurants could provide take out services while vendors on Arawak Cay and Montagu were denied this opportunity. It is clear that kisses go by favour in this administration.” “The prime minister, competent authority, should simply allow all restaurants to extend their operating hours
to 9pm. If the competent authority has determined that there is no additional public health risks associated with this approach, what rationale could he possibly give for denying all other restaurant owners the same opportunity? “Again, like the PLP has said on multiple occasions, the applications of some of the orders are not evidence based, but are political favours resulting from political pressures.” Editorial View - Page 6
POLICE TARGET BARS WHERE SOCIAL DISTANCING IS MISSING
By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT ts-cartwright @tribunemedia.net
POLICE have been targeting bars whose owners have not been enforcing social distancing protocols or adhering to curbside liquor sales, police press liaison officer ASP Audley Peters said yesterday. “Over the weekend, persons were not adhering to the curbside sales of liquor,” ASP Peters said. “We are still under the curbside rule and so the police officers were admonished to go to those bars, because the customers were going inside those bars and not following the social distancing protocols. So that’s what
was going on. Those persons were found in breach and the proprietors were arrested and dealt with.” He denied assertions that police were shutting down bars and liquor stores, after several voice notes circulated yesterday suggesting this. “So we are not closing any bars down. Persons were just targeted who did not comply with the rules of social distancing or curbside selling and who also chose to go beyond the time they were allotted to be open.” According to Section 9(a) of the Emergency Powers Orders, bars are listed as “prohibited businesses” along with discos, cinemas, libraries and other venues that are still not allowed to open.
Asked about the voice notes, ASP Peters said, “I am aware of that, voice notes circulating in regards to the closure of the liquor stores, but something like that would have had to be confirmed by the competent authority and no such thing has happened.” The Tribune contacted 700 Wines & Spirits on West Bay Street to see if there was an issue or visitation by the police. A store representative said they had not had any challenges. “No,” said the store representative. “No one came here and we had no issues. As far as I know, none of our other locations had any issues of that nature, either.”
PAGE 4, Tuesday, July 14, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
POLICE PROBE REPORTS THAT OFFICERS SHOT SEVERAL DOGS By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
KIM Aranha, the president of the Bahamas Humane Society, said she is disturbed by reports that police officers shot and killed several dogs that posed no threat to them last week. Details of the incident are scarce but Assistant Superintendent of Police Audley Peters confirmed yesterday the Royal Bahamas Police Force has received
a complaint about the matter and has launched an investigation. Reports are that between three and five pit bulls were killed, with Mrs Aranha saying she understands three dogs were killed in the High Vista area. “It is absolutely unacceptable,” she said. “As far as we can tell there was no need for it. The police don’t have a very good track record with dogs in yards. There must be an investigation and we will call for
one and we are talking to authorities about it. “It’s deplorable, it’s unacceptable and it happens far too frequently. We had a big rash of it last year and we even had it on film where one policeman came into a property and shot a dog that was chained, a dog that could not reach the policeman. The animal was completely harmless. The dog did not die. We went and picked him up and we cared for him and his owner got him back but there was no need to
shoot that dog. He was ten feet away on a chain but the killing of dogs in yards happens too often. “It worries me. If a policeman wants to run through my yard and my dog is unchained, my dog won’t understand that he’s a policeman. They’re protecting my property. It’s not unreasonable that the dog would go after someone who jumps the wall and is running through my property, whether that person has a good reason or not. The Bahamas Humane
Society has offered training to the police force. There is a very renowned former police officer who trains police forces all over the world on how to handle aggressive dogs. We have offered our services to the Royal Bahamas Police Force but nobody has taken me up on that. What I’m hearing is the dogs in this case posed no threat.” In February 2019, Mrs Aranha complained after two dogs were allegedly shot in their owner’s yard by police officers.
According to social media reports at the time, the shooting incident occurred while officers were executing a search warrant at a residence. The dogs were said to have been tied at the time and not roaming free. Mrs Aranha said both dogs, which were “pitbull type”, were shot twice and taken to the BHS for treatment. One dog underwent surgery at the time due to a bullet being lodged in its jaw, she said last year.
In a recent interview with The Tribune, co-chairs Bishop Simeon Hall and Quinn McCartney said group members intend to reconvene their work very soon. “As you are aware, we submitted our report in January because the prime minister wanted to give his Cabinet a chance to have a look at our preliminary report. But of course in March, COVID-19 happened and we are basically
just getting out of that period,” Mr McCartney said during a recent interview with The Tribune. “We hope to reactivate and to sort of tie up our work hopefully in the coming months, but again we will need to return to the Office of the Prime Minister that has responsibility for this project and get further directions in terms of which way the prime minister would wish for us to continue.”
Draft bill on marijuana expected ‘in short order’ By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net A DRAFT bill on marijuana legislation is expected to be presented to Cabinet “in very short order,” Attorney General Carl Bethel said yesterday. However, Mr Bethel told The Tribune he could not give a definite timeline on the matter as he is still waiting to receive the official draft from his office. “I’ve asked for the draft persons to prepare a draft bill to circulate and have approved by Cabinet. I haven’t got it back yet. I will follow up with it today,” he said. “I’ve sent, several weeks ago, instructions. We’ve been very busy working on a host of battles including that so in due course, in very short order, it will be brought forward for consideration by Cabinet.” His comments come as calls for marijuana law reform intensify in the country, with some
observers noting the economic benefits that legalising marijuana could bring to aid country’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. Speaking on the matter last week, head of the Ethiopia Africa Black International Congress (EABIC) Bahamas branch Priest Rithmond McKinney told The Tribune that the drug, if legalised, could help improve the high unemployment rate in the country, which now stands between 30 percent to 40 percent. “I feel as though the government must speed up the process. . .because its revenue could bring more development to our country and slow down the persons who have no employment,” Priest McKinney said at the time. “This could make the employment (rate) much better and it’s a big industry and it really could help someone economically. I feel as though the whole Caribbean is looking into this matter and seeing how
best they could benefit and help rise the economy so we shouldn’t drag our feet and be behind. We should find the best ways and means to find a way how to use it for the benefit of the Bahamian people economically and medically.” Asked yesterday when his office is expected complete its work on marijuana legislation, Mr Bethel said he did not want to “speculate.” He continued: “That’s the most that I can say. I’ve instructed them and requested that a draft be prepared, and they will have to look at what has been done throughout the region to come up with the best solution for the Bahamas. They will draft that and get that to me and then I have to take that to Cabinet for colleagues to approve.” Earlier this year, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis tabled the Bahamas National Commission on Marijuana’s report in the House of
ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel Assembly, bringing the country one step closer to marijuana reform. The preliminary report recommends releasing from prison those convicted for having small amounts of the drug and decriminalising up to one ounce of cannabis for persons 21 and over. However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the work of the BNCM was placed on hold for more than three months.
JUVENILE REMANDED OVER ALLEGATIONS HE SUPPLIED COCAINE
By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
A JUVENILE was remanded to the Simpson
Penn Centre for Boys over allegations he supplied cocaine to another person and was found with a quantity of marijuana he
intended to sell. The 17-year-old appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes charged with supplying
a quantity of cocaine to another person on July 9. The teenager was also charged with marijuana possession and being in possession of a quantity of Indian hemp with the intent to supply. During his hearing, he denied all three of the charges and the matter was adjourned to October 28 for trial. The youngster was arraigned alongside Ennal Miller, 59, who was also charged with one count of simple possession after officers seized six grams of Indian hemp from her on July 9. She pleaded guilty and was fined $300 or two months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. Prosecutor Lincoln McKenzie said around 3.50pm that day, officers observed Miller being handed four Ziploc bags containing a quantity of suspected marijuana. Osbourne Newbold, 39, also appeared before Magistrate Forbes for drug related offences. He was charged with simple possession and marijuana possession with the intent
to supply. He pleaded guilty to both counts and was was fined $300 or three months at BDCS for count one and $1,000 or six months in prison for count two. Both sentences were ordered to run concurrently. Prosecutor Lincoln McKenzie said when officers searched the defendant that day, they found a homemade marijuana cigarette in his right hand. He also said they found more of the drugs in his underpants and nine cookies they suspected to contain marijuana in his vehicle. The drugs found on Newbold’s person had an estimated weight of 13 grams, while the suspected marijuana cookies had an estimated weight of five grams. The officers also recovered $1,911 which they believed were the proceeds of crime. During the hearing, Newbold was represented by attorney Ian Cargill. He told the magistrate his client was remorseful for his actions. He also said Newbold could prove the funds were not his, but belonged to someone else.
As a result, Magistrate Forbes scheduled a hearing for November 5 to determine whether the funds the officers seized from Newbold were in fact derived from crime. Meanwhile, 29-year-old Brad Henfield was charged with marijuana possession with the intent to supply after officers seized over two pounds of Indian hemp from him on July 10. Sgt McKenzie said when officers stopped and searched Henfield that day, they found a package containing a quantity of suspected marijuana in his vehicle. When he was taken into custody for questioning, he told officers he had found the drugs outside. During the hearing, Magistrate Forbes said he found it amazing how many people claimed they found drugs lying around in the street. After accepting Henfield’s guilty plea, he convicted him of the offense and fined him $2,000. He warned Henfield if he failed to pay the fine, he would spend eight months in prison.
GUNMAN ROBS WOMAN OF CASH POLICE are looking for a man who robbed a woman on Sunday. Shortly after noon, a woman was at Spikenard Road when she was accosted by a gunman who robbed her of cash. The suspect escaped in an unknown direction, police said. Police also made several drug seizures and arrests. Shortly after 7pm, officers were patrolling Sutton
Street off Kemp Road when they saw two men acting suspiciously. Police asked the men to stop, but the suspects fled on foot. The officers pursued them and saw the men throw an object into nearby bushes. A search of the area led to suspected marijuana being recovered. No arrested was made. In another incident, shortly before 8pm on Sunday, officers went to a
home on Major Road in Yellow Elder where they searched the property. The officers seized marijuana plants from the home and arrested a man and a woman in connection to the find. Police also recovered marijuana after searching a bushy area on Charles W Saunders Highway after 8pm on Sunday. No arrest was made in this incident.
THE TRIBUNE from page one with their co-accused, were convicted of murder, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and attempted armed robbery and were sentenced to imprisonment. The appellants appealed their convictions after arguing the judge failed to “properly investigate” a verbal altercation between the forewoman and an alternate juror during their trial. They also argued the jury was not informed that the prosecution’s witness “had an interest to serve”. Yesterday, Justices Jon Isaacs, Maureen CraneScott and Milton Evans quashed Duncombe and Saunders’ convictions after concluding that both of the men’s verdicts could be deemed as “unsafe”. According to a judgement posted on the court’s website, on November 24, 2013, Braynen was at Gardiner’s home in Love Hill, Andros when they were both kidnapped and taken to Newbold Farm where they were shot to death. While Gardiner was buried in a shallow grave, Braynen’s body was dumped into a six-feet deep hole. Their remains were discovered about a month later by Anthony McKenzie and Eddie Green, two men who were out in the bush hunting hogs. The judgment noted the bodies of both victims were so decomposed that they had to be identified by DNA testing of samples taken from the remains and samples of blood provided by their relatives. “Suspicion fell on Duncombe and his co-accused: Daniel Coakley, James Johnson and Cordero Saunders because ••••• reported to the police she had seen the immigration Jeep usually driven by Shane, pass her early in the morning and with ••••• sitting in the back seat on the very day Tishka and Shane went missing,” the court documents read. “She also told of Saunders and Daniel driving in Tishka’s sister’s vehicle right behind the Jeep. Saunders and Duncombe along with others were arrested by the police. They and their co-accused were charged with multiple offences and taken before a magistrate; and in due course, a voluntary bill of indictment was filed fast tracking the case to the Supreme Court.” According to the judgement, the Crown called two key witnesses during the trial. One of them was •••••, a “co-conspirator,” who gave evidence for the Crown. He testified that Duncombe, James Johnson and Shawn Hinsey had planned to rob Gardiner and Braynen. He said on the morning in question, the men, who were armed
Tuesday, July 14, 2020, PAGE 5
Court of Appeal quashes double murder conviction
CORDERO Saunders pictured outside court during his trial with handguns, picked him up. He also said Gardiner and Braynen were in the Jeep at the time. ••••• claimed that when they arrived at Newbold Farm, they all got out of the vehicle and Duncombe began asking Gardiner for money. When Gardiner said he had none, Duncombe shot him. He said Duncombe then led Braynen a short distance away and shot her as well. “••••• was the second key witness for the prosecution. She stated that on November 23, 2013, while preparing breakfast at her home she overheard a conversation between Saunders and James that Paul Marshall said that Shane had won some money,” the court documents read. “She stated that shortly thereafter Saunders came into the house and told Daniel that he was going to call Duncombe and they left together. She recalled that half an hour later Saunders and Daniel returned with Duncombe...••••• recounted that around 4am on November 24, 2013 whilst standing near the
Fresh Creek Graveyard awaiting a ride to work, she recognised the Jeep of the Bahamas Immigration Department which was regularly driven by Shane driving past her with ••••• in the rear passenger seat. As the vehicle passed her, she could hear the screams of a male and female.” The judgment noted a no case to answer submission, which was made on the appellants’ behalf, was rejected by the judge at the close of the Crown’s case. According to the court documents, Duncombe’s initial counsel had asked the judge to issue summonses for two witnesses. He also advised the judge that the “prospective witnesses’ employers would not release them without a court summons.” Still, the judge declined to issue the summonses, because she believed Duncombe was “engaging in a time-wasting exercise”. As a result, Duncombe was made to proceed with his case without calling the two witnesses. “Duncombe’s case at trial was essentially that he knew
nothing of the murders and both of the Crown’s witnesses (and) ••••• and ••••• were unreliable witnesses because they each had an interest to serve. In the case of •••••, he was involved in the offences charged but was being used as a prosecution witness against his fellow offenders.
The suggestion was, it appears, that he was ‘singing for his supper’. In the case of •••••, she had been arrested by the police on suspicion of being involved with the offenders and only gave a statement implicating them after she had been released. Again, the suggestion being that this was a quid pro quo and she had an interest to serve. “After the close of addresses by counsel and before the judge was to sum up the case to the jury, the jury requested that they be allowed to visit the locus in quo. The judge acceded to the request and the arrangements were made. While members of the jury were on a bus which was apparently transporting them to various locations in Andros, an altercation occurred between the forewoman and an alternate juror. The altercation was variously described as a verbal altercation and as a fight. The latter description was given by the forewoman when she was questioned by the judge in her chambers during a meeting the judge held with the forewoman and the alternate juror in the absence of counsel and the appellants. The judge later advised counsel that she would excuse the forewoman; but did not do so; and the trial continued without protest from the appellants’ counsel.” In his judgement, Justice Isaacs said he believed the
altercation between the forewoman and the alternate juror was a “matter internal to the jury”. As a result, he concluded it was important for the jury to be “questioned in open court through their foreman to ascertain whether it anticipated to bring in a true verdict according to the evidence”. “It is obvious that the judge’s refusal to issue summonses for appellant Duncombe’s witnesses was because she was conscious of the time the case had already taken to finish, and was anxious not to further displace cases she had already fixed for hearing,” he continued. “However, expedience cannot overpower an accused person’s undoubted constitutional right to a fair hearing. It must be impressed upon tribunals conducting criminal trials that they must not be overly concerned with delays that may be caused by the necessity to have a defence or prosecution witness come to court to testify, unless it is clear in the circumstances that the request is made for the purpose of delay... In the premises, the convictions of Duncombe and Saunders are quashed and their sentences are set aside. We will hear the parties on the issue of a retrial.” • Names removed to protect the identities of those involved.
SON ADMITS THREATENING TO KILL FATHER By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A 28-YEAR-OLD man was ordered to attend grief and anger management classes after he admitted to threatening to kill his father during an altercation over the weekend. Chavargo Woodside appeared before Deputy Chief Andrew Forbes charged with one count each of assault and threats of death after he was accused of kicking his father and threatening to take his life on July 11. The court heard the defendant’s father, Alexander Woodside, was at his
residence around 10am on the day in question when he and the accused got into a “verbal altercation”. At the time, Alexander Woodside said his son accused him of killing his mother and told him he would soon kill him, before kicking him. As a result of his complaint, Chavargo Woodside was arrested and taken to the Elizabeth Estates Police Station. In an interview with officers there, he denied making death threats towards his father. During the hearing, Chavargo Woodside was represented by attorney
Barry Sawyer. He told the magistrate his client and his father had a “tumultuous” relationship and it got to the point where the younger Woodside retaliated. Still, he insisted his client was apologetic for his actions. Chavargo Woodside pleaded guilty to both charges and was conditionally discharged for 12 months on the agreement he would attend grief and anger management counselling. If he fails to comply with the conditions of his release, Woodside will spend three months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.
PAGE 6, Tuesday, July 14, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
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Why are safety measures not in place for students? ACROSS the country, parents are looking ahead to the next school year – and worrying. Having already dealt with children at home through the lockdown, the concern now is what comes next? Will schools be able to deal safely with children once more? For some, that future concern is a present one – those families whose children sat examinations yesterday in the first day of BJC and BGCSE sittings. It does not appear to have gone well, judging by what Bahamas Union of Teachers president Belinda Wilson has to say. Let’s move past the claims of ministry officials being late to some schools and some examinations starting late, at least for now. The big concern facing parents and students across the country is safety within schools, and on that count we appear to be falling short. Mrs Wilson pointed out a number of concerns – such as desks not being placed six feet apart, classrooms that had not been cleaned, “little to no social distancing”, and workers not wearing masks. If this is true, we would expect Minister of Education Jeff Lloyd to be furious at the failure to ensure children are protected. For months, we have been staying at home, wearing masks when we go out, washing our hands, and following all the instructions to prevent the spread of the virus. As the Prime Minister warned us
of the dangers of the virus, as he even closed down the beaches again just last weekend, what was the Ministry of Education doing to ensure that students would be as safe as possible when they arrived to do their examinations yesterday? It sounds as if there were other muddles too – over training and communication with invigilators, contact with students, co-ordination of volunteers. All of those are major issues, just as the late-starting exams are major issues too, but the biggest of all is student and staff safety. Just as students faced their big test, so too did the Ministry – and it failed. There is great concern among families across the country about school safety. Already, parents are starting to receive letters from schools setting out plans for next semester. If schools cannot manage social distancing with only examination students returning, how will they manage when all the students do? Indeed, where is the guidance from the ministry to schools for how to deal with thousands of students returning to schools? For both government and private schools, that guidance is crucial to a safe reopening – and to reassure parents over whether their children will be safe once the doors do open again. Mrs Wilson says she hopes that for the sake of our nation’s youth that the Ministry gets its act together. We would say it needs to go a good deal beyond hope – this is literally a matter of life and death.
Keep it fair all round A VERY curious exemption has emerged to the COVID-19 emergency powers. The chairman of the Myers Group, George Myers, asked for permission for his restaurant group to stay open later. Fair enough, no harm in asking. Peculiarly, though, the government said yes to just his group, sending a letter dated July 9 giving the approval for KFC, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts and Anthony’s Caribbean Grill to remain open until 9pm, when businesses have in general been told to close by 8pm. If the government thought that it was reasonable for such businesses to open until 9pm, it seems odd that they wouldn’t make a blanket change to the emergency powers so that it would apply to all, rather than one. Indeed, the whole discussion over an extra hour here or there, or reduced access to this or that makes us again question what the reason is for each of these orders. If it’s safe to open an
hour later, why weren’t we doing so in the first place? Why is it safe to open a restaurant that serves alcohol but not a bar? If we were given some glimpse into the reasoning behind these decisions, it might encourage people to abide by the rules - but Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis seems to be keen to avoid questions these days. Instead, with the split between one restaurant’s opening hours and another, the government has opened itself to accusations of preferential treatment. Attorney General Carl Bethel tells us that an order has been prepared allowing all restaurants to remain open until 9pm, but as we write that has not been released. Mr Bethel’s office has been late in filing emergency orders recently, but this one is already four days later than the approval to a single operator. Why one, and not another? And are there other approvals given to one business, but not their rivals? Come on, government, keep it fair all round.
We need to find a new way to develop EDITOR, The Tribune THE Bahamas requires an entirely new way of thinking about economic growth and development, and a new approach to structuring and operating its economy that can only be had by implementing innovative development economics and innovative development finance. It is certainly obvious from the years of steadily increasing deficits, debt, and dependency, with little in the way of progress or success to show for them, that the existing methods and tools of economic development and related
economic policies have not served the Bahamian people well. In fact, they only serve to exacerbate the other underlying problems and inequities that perpetually exist in the Bahamian economy. The question bears asking: for whose benefit is the development of The Bahamas intended? If for Bahamians, as it ought to be, then monumental economic reconstruction is required. Without a complete overhaul of our country’s development strategy, all the money injected by the government to ‘save’ businesses and jobs will be
wasted, and all the effort spent collecting ideas for ‘recovery’ will be futile. Truly, no amount of investment or new ideas will change our Bahamian economy for the better, until we change our Bahamian economy for the benefit of Bahamians. I welcome constructive feedback in writing from my Bahamian people so please email me directly at economistNB@outlook. com NICOLE BURROWS Development Economist, Writer Nassau, July 12, 2020.
Our system is leading people to fail EDITOR, The Tribune ONCE again, the national exams are around the corner and students are in preparation mode. But let’s think about this BJC and BGCSE system. People within the Ministry of Education always talk about the D Average, which has become the national disgrace of the system for years, is about to rear it’s ugly head again for 2020. Whilst some of the blame may fall on neglectful students and parents, the structure of these exams and the administration behind the system is mainly responsible for the disarray of education and the poor quality of life in the country. All of these would have been easily avoided, but no one looks back and speaks up about how these exams work. Here’s the flaws on how the exams fail on so many levels. For starters, the tests take place in one location for all the students of various schools to go to, instead of having the tests within each school with the papers distributed to all schools within the country. Second, there’s the poor timing and miscommunication errors between the ministry and the schools which can cause students to miss the appropriate time or sometimes, the schedule would be changed without warning at all. It’s like this year’s exams, where it should have been late October or mid November instead of July or August. The BGCSE tests, which is necessary for attending UB without an entrance exam and for overseas scholarship, is also severely flawed because someone created both Core and Extended papers and those who choose one of those papers by option ended up failing even if that person tried hard enough with coursework being done. This is because the teachers
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net and/or the ministry’s administrators asked them to just take one paper, only to end up tricking the students into bitter failure. There’s a minority of students and teachers that warn others that they should take both papers, but this Core and Extended system shouldn’t be there. Then there’s the BJCs, which the problem is about taking four tests to achieve a high school diploma. Whoever thought about this new diploma requirements should take a long, hard look at what they just sent to the Ministry of Education. All the other countries that have high school diplomas are at 12th grade level, but by using the BJCs as a requirement, most of our students’ highest grade levels average around 10th grade or even lower around 9th or 8th grade knowledge for diploma holders who have already graduated around 17 or 18 years old. Most of the knowledge you get from these exams will never be used practically in life. Too many of BGCSE classes teach you about these absurd mathematic formulas and other nonessential topics. It’s like some people believe that all kids should be doctors, scientists, professors and lawyers. But in reality, not all children can do these ridiculous tasks and different positive life is something we clearly lack in the country. Many young adults require a simple job with decent wages for new families and independent workers, while many other adults can do more complex tasks. The worst of all the flaws? Our two exams can only be credited to Canadian colleges; but outside of that, the BJCs and BGCSEs are worthless
to many US colleges and others in Europe, along many Asian universities outside of China, Australia and New Zealand universities are almost out of the question. Many Bahamians who were educated with our system are forced to try six times harder than other nations to attend other universities or the ones in high-schools will have to find someone who can teach them the SATs. So, yes, our exams are vastly worthless and almost useless to universities outside of Canada and some institutes in the US. That is the sorry, broken state of the Ministry of Education and these two exams that have led the Bahamians to bitter failure and the descent to misery. If we’re to have a second chance of guiding the Bahamas to greatness. We’re going to rebuild the BJCs and BGCSEs from the ground up to teach teenagers and young adults practical skills that can be used for real life and for the teachers to improve themselves along with the schools. The alternative is farfetched, but if that doesn’t pan out as a success, then our current system will have to be burned down to ashes. Afterwards, we’ll ask for permission of many of the developed nations to import their successful exams into the Bahamas and we will never again create another broken system to lead Bahamians into failure. The Bahamas doesn’t need to continue suffering a D Average parade of constant fails, mockery and poor standards of living for more than 40 years. It’s time to reform our exams to give young people usable skills or shut them down for good and have exams from other nations teaching Bahamians to succeed instead. AMMAKA RUSSELL Nassau, July 10, 2020.
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, July 14, 2020, PAGE 7
BUILDING ITS FLEET THE Public Hospitals Authority is continuing to build its fleet of emergency vehicles in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian last year. The devastating storm significantly impacted the National Emergency Medical Services’ ambulance fleet, destroying ambulances serving Abaco, Grand Bahama and New Providence. On Friday, June 26, the PHA received delivery of three new ambulances as part of the ongoing fleet replacement programme. The emergency vehicles were manufactured by Wheeled Coach, Rev Ambulance Group in Orlando Florida
and are valued at approximately $150,000 each. NEMS director, Dr Alvery Hanna said in the aftermath of Dorian in September, PHA assigned donated ambulances from its fleet in New Providence to service Abaco and Grand Bahama. She said: “Two of the ambulances will remain in New Providence and one will be deployed to Grand Bahama.” PHA has prioritised the replacement of the NEMS vehicle fleet following the near total loss of ambulances in Grand Bahama and Abaco resulting from Hurricane Dorian.
MAJOR ROADWORKS SET FOR LONG ISLAND ROADS needing repair in Long Island
MAJOR road works will be carried out in Long Island in the coming weeks. According to the island’s MP, Adrian Gibson, various inspections have taken place over the past few months along Queen’s Highway to assess and determine the civil works required for upcoming road repair. Mr Gibson said major road paving will be carried out in sections of the main Queen’s Highway. A $4.3m contract for the project was awarded to Bethell’s Trucking and Heavy Equipment Ltd. This is the first phase of the road paving exercise. In an effort to better the driving experience, sections
of the main Queen’s Highway in central and north Long Island, and various sections in the south, will also be re-surfaced - Seymours to Clarence Town - using hot mix asphalt, Mr Gibson said. “The road surface is in poor condition due to potholes, edge erosion and alligator cracks,” he said in a Facebook post. “Moreover, I have requested additional works to main and side roads and Minister of Works Desmond Bannister has given me a pledge that the contractor will remain on the island until the bulk of the works have been executed. “During these works,
117 stop signs, 122 curve signs, 92 speed limit signs and 26 settlement signs will be erected across the island. GPS markings were established along the Queen’s Highway for settlement signs and at the intersections of all known public roads (for future reference). Given the location of the sea walls at the curve on Queen’s Highway in Salt Pond, and given the serious accidents that have occurred there in recent years, roughly 400 feet of guard rail be installed adjacent to the end of the sea wall to avert such collisions and possible loss of life,” he said.
EVERY DONATION MAKES A DIFFERENCE
EVERY little helps in these difficult times and for Hilltop Cottage Ministries they were grateful for every donation to their efforts to help feed needy families. Representatives of the Righteous Remnant Ministry International from Bolton, North Carolina, are the latest to help out
with a gift of foodstuffs. Pictured at the donation handover are, from left: Ministers Rachelle Dames and Georgette Bastian, Apostle Laura Johnson-Taylor and Minister Eureka Bastian-Munnings. Photo: Stephen Taylor
PAGE 8, Tuesday, July 14, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
ANTONIA, centre, with her Florida International University Gospel Choir
T
HE Independence holiday was a good time to sit and reflect on our nation, look at the good and the bad, and determine what we can do individually, as well as together, to help make our country great. I chatted with an amazingly talented woman over the holiday – one who has done so much to augment Bahamian culture in the field of music. Even as a youth, Antonia Wilson was busy making her mark on her beloved Bahamaland. She lives in Florida today, but her love of country remains strong and it has helped her to develop into woman she is today. I was first introduced to Antonia by Allison Marrette Rolle. When she sent me the YouTube link to watch Antonia’s work, I was blown away. She is an extraordinary composer. The level of excellence in her work speaks volumes. Her song He’s Sweet I Know was a great one to watch on Independence day. The video highlights the beauty of The Bahamas with its color, ocean scenes, and the spirit of the performers. In May 2020, Antonia was scheduled to be on tour as Creative Director for Sam Moore (Legendary Rock-n-roll Hall of Famer) in Tokyo, Japan, but COVID-19 caused a delay in those plans. She wrote, arranged and directed a CD project called The Sower & The Seed featuring Joss Stone in 2017. She has a plethora of presentations and live performances that have been broadcast around the world. Her album Me & Hymn has been called a “wellconstructed masterpiece of hymns” that “sound original and classic at the same time”. It is influenced by various styles of Gospel, Jazz, Latin, classical, A Cappella, and R&B, and even includes a negro spiritual blend in the song ‘Resurrection Day’. As I watched her videos and listened to the inspirational music, I recognised the exquisite touch that Antonia puts on everything she produces. All of the songs featured on Me & Hymn were written and arranged by Antonia, and she worked with Jonathan Joseph and Douglas Carter Jr to produce the project. Legato Vocal Ensemble performs with her. She dedicated this album to her mother, the late Audrey Dean-Wright, noted composer and Bahamian cultural icon. She worked with her mother, as well as Audrey’s sister Patricia Bazard, during their humble beginnings, which gave her a wealth of experience. Antonia was born to Arthur and Ivy Rollins, but as an infant, she was cared for by Marina Dean and her daughter Audrey. Arthur and Ivy had twelve children together, eight of them remain, and Antonia was second to the last. Marina, Ivy’s sister, lived on John Road West near Hospital Lane. There, little Antonia would watch kids flock in and out of
In music, Antonia found an escape and a place to chase her dreams
their home as Audrey, who was a teenager at the time, would give piano lessons. Antonia’s Aunt Ena, whom she affectionately calls “Grammy”, owned a store downstairs. Ena made uniforms, church robes and other apparel, and Antonia would help her by sewing buttons, ironing, and just being a helper. Grammy was also an Evangelist at Salem Baptist Church, and so Antonia had much exposure to music and song at home and church. She attended St. Barnabas Pre-School and Wee Wisdom in Centerville and even in those formative years, Antonia showed promise: “I was only about five years-old and I remember picking up the oboe, violin and the clarinet, even though these instruments were bigger than me! I could play “Mary had a Little
Lamb” and I remember my family members gathering around in the dining room and being astonished that I could do that.” By the time Antonia was six, Mummy Audrey, as she called her, told her that she was going to Jamaica to live with Pastor Hugh Scavella and his wife Eulee. They had moved from Nassau to Mandeville, where Pastor Scavella had been sent on assignment from the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Conference. “It was rough separating from my family, but I was obedient,” Antonia shared. “I took piano and violin lessons and I embraced the situation. My love for hymns grew and I found myself harmonising with the melody from age six. I would memorise songs… and music was my constant over the years.”
ANTONIA’S christening with godparents Mr E Clement Bethel, his wife Dr Keva Bethel and Coral Huyler
When Antonia was in the third grade, Audrey called for her to come and join her in New York City. Audrey was studying for her Bachelor’s Degree at the Manhattan School of music. Antonia’s eyes were opened to a whole new world. She met an urban city filled with skyscrapers and a mesh of cultures and experiences. “Culturally it was great, and musically, I evolved – I got to see the world in an enlarged light,” Antonia said. “I attended summer workshops at Manhattan School of Music playing at the Suzuki Violin Camp. I joined the Children’s Cherub Choir at Mount of Olives SDA in Brooklyn. I had a solo recording on a 33 LP back then. I had my first piano recital at one of the halls within Carnegie Hall with over 70 young kids. I learned independence, taking the subway and buses where I had to go. The kids at church… they played by ear. Everyone was so nice! Culturally it was great. I interacted with not just African Americans, but Italians, Puerto Ricans, Jamaicans, and other ethnicities. I would roller skate, ice skate, and double dutch… and I loved singing and playing violin.” They moved back to Nassau when Antonia was in the 6th grade: “I had a very eventful childhood as a leader. I was singing in big and small groups, going between Salem Baptist Church on Taylor Street and Centerville SDA. Then I helped Patricia as she performed gospel music with the National Baptist Mass Youth Choir. I became a dedicated accompanist.” “Annually I was register for the Bahamas National Arts Festival. It was always
a delight for me to make a presentation on my violin. I had the opportunity to perform in front of E. Clement Bethel, my godfather. It meant a lot to me as I was so inspired by his music in the legendary production Sammy Swain, and I also by the Chamber Singers.” But with all the great things going on in her life, the young Antonia battled issues with identity and worth, including trying to understand why her birth name was changed. “As a child, I found The Bahamas to be a place full of classism - if you don’t have your own mother and father, if you didn’t have a specific kind of family setting, everyone else indirectly turns their nose at you,” she said candidly. “So music helped me outwardly, although I was hurting bad inwardly. People would tease me about being adopted. And my family itself had segregation and division. Children learn to speak when spoken to and answer when called, but no one really listens to the child. But, I kept producing musically. I had to find myself outside of my culture and country, but I miss my home. God turns things around and makes a way for us.” “I am proud of my country… I have always been. In my writing, there isn’t a song I produce when I am inspired, that I don’t reflect on my country. My heart is attached to my roots.” Antonia is currently writing a song called Ocean Breeze, where I envision the “cool, clean waters” of The Bahamas and all its natural beauty. Antonia has a wealth of work as a musician under her belt. Her repertoire is extensive and shows her
versatility as an artist who has worked with people from many cultures and nations. She is currently an Adjunct Professor of Music at Florida International University. She is also a piano and voice instructor. Keysha Edwards-Taylor enjoyed having Antonia as her vocal producer and project manager on her album Deep. She is a member of Women in Jazz South Florida Inc and served as a former Advisory Board Member for the City of Miramar, Florida. Antonia is the artistic director and founder of Legato Vocal Ensemble. She was the Conductor of Chimer in Praise of Perrine, Florida; Director of William R. Butler Inspiration Concert Choir of University of Miami; and Worship & Creative Arts Director for The Fountain of New Life Ministries. Antonia arranged, co-wrote and produced seven book projects for her mother including: Fingertips, Children Sing for Joy, Flutescapes, Bahamian Lyrics & Other Poems, The Young Pianist, Sacred Songs of Praise and Audrey’s Popular Bahamian Hits. In tribute to her godfather Clement Bethel, she has included songs of his in her work, including one called Praise and another called Tomorrow inspired by his composition called When the Road Seems Rough, which she rearranged as a pop song. Antonia is married to Harvey Carmona and she and they have five children together. Family means a lot to her. In terms of her own birth siblings, she reunited with her oldest sister, a retired cosmetologist and business owner in New York. She has a brother, Arthur Rollins Jr., whom she says is like the “Lou Rawls of The Bahamas” and is a great singer. She is also proud of her brother Aaron Rollins-Neely, the director for the Bahamas National Youth Orchestra and is an accomplished musician and teacher. Of all her biological siblings, she remains very close to her brother Ambrose. With music in her blood and the Bahamas in her heart, Antonia is looking forward to continuing her musical journey. She has worked with the likes of Cece Winans, Israel Houghton, Richard Smallwood, Bobby McFerrin, Byron Cage and Earnest Pugh, and she has performed in places like Cannes, France; Barcelona, Marbella and Madrid, Spain; Mexico and Moscow, Russia in addition to performing throughout the United States. But Antonia believes that there is still more in her, and she is determined to keep overcoming odds to accomplish her dreams.
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, July 14, 2020, PAGE 9
REMEMBERING WHEN BRITAIN’S FATE LAY IN THE HANDS OF THE FEW HISTORIANS often tend to exaggerate claims of the significance of certain events that, for one reason or another, they favour. But there is no reason to doubt claims that the Battle of Britain, which began 80 years ago this month - July 10, 1940 - and lasted until October, was a decisive turning point in the Second World War and that it was a unique chapter in the nation’s history. No less an authority than Britain’s wartime leader, Winston Churchill, wrote in his official account of the war that in the summer of that year the country’s fate indeed hung in the balance as it faced invasion by Nazi Germany.
Hitler recognised that, having conquered the rest of Europe, his plans for an invasion of Britain, called Operation Sea Lion, depended on winning air supremacy above the English Channel and the chosen landing places on England’s south coast. Both he and Churchill knew the Germans had to destroy the Royal Air Force before launching an invasion. At that point, it seemed Britain was almost down and out following the large-scale evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk in May the same year with the loss of most of its equipment. According to Churchill, in such circumstances the German leader could not conceive Britain would
The
Peter Young column IT WAS wholly predictable that the content of remarks by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at a recent discussion with young leaders from the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust would cause controversy. In a video released last week and distributed around the world, Harry and Meghan - who are respectively president and vice president of this Trust were seen talking about the Commonwealth in a way many people consider could undermine it. Her Majesty The Queen is Head of the Commonwealth which is seen as one of the great successes of her record-breaking reign - and in 2018, she made Prince Harry a Commonwealth Youth Ambassador in order to communicate on her behalf with the two thirds of the citizens of the 54-strong organization who are under the age of 30. However, reportedly he relinquished this role on stepping back from royal duties. In his openly critical comments the prince said that in order to move forward which, he stated, it needed to do - the Commonwealth had to ‘acknowledge the past’ and ‘right its wrongs’, even if doing that would be uncomfortable. He added ‘there is so much more still to do’ while Meghan, for her part, said this should be a ‘moment of reckoning’ where people ‘own’ their past mistakes. Many are puzzled by these remarks because the couple seem to be confusing the Commonwealth and the bygone British Empire. The former is a free and voluntary association mostly of Britain’s now independent past colonies but it also includes, for example, countries like Mozambique and Rwanda, respectively former colonies of Portugal and Belgium - as well as Cameroon which was once partitioned between Britain and France. Britain, of course, has no power or control over members of the Commonwealth of which there are 15 Realms including The Bahamas (16 with Britain herself added) with The Queen as their titular head of state. Indeed, the whole point of the Commonwealth - known as a family of nations - is that it is a voluntary association of countries on equal terms. So claims of creating some sort of new empire are without foundation and incorrect. Since none of its members is either
compelled to join or to stay in it, clearly they see their membership as advantageous or they would leave. The Commonwealth’s purpose is to promote peace, democracy, human rights and other core values; and it has been described, in a nutshell, as an unparalleled network of professional expertise. The 54 countries have a combined population of 2.4 billion, a third of the world’s total, with a shared language, history and culture, common values and customs as well as common legal systems, institutional frameworks and close trading links. Its members appear to see value in these close links, especially economic ties including aid and technical co-operation; and the smaller countries, in particular, are known to regard the organization as a platform for them to be heard on a wider global stage. Against this background, the wrongs mentioned by Prince Harry must refer to the Empire rather than the Commonwealth. There are surely dark events in the histories of most countries and Britain is no exception. Her imperial past contained both the good and the bad. The legitimacy of colonialism itself - for example, what is seen as the carveup of Africa by European powers at the Berlin Conference of 1884-85 - has always been questioned, but the balance of the advantages and harm or downside of colonialism is a difficult subject that remains subject to debate. Some people recognise the benefits of the spread of democracy and good governance together with education and scientific and technological progress, while others see it as oppression, keeping people in bondage and using colonies to extract raw materials and riches. It is significant that over the years Britain has admitted specific transgressions in her colonial history and has been prepared to express regret and issue official apologies or, in certain cases, pay compensation - to name just a few, concentration camps during the Boer War at the beginning of the 20th century, the Amritsar massacre in 1919, the partition of India at the time of its independence in 1947, the torture and abuse of Mau Mau detainees in Kenya in the 1950s for which the UK paid compensation to some 5,000 elderly Kenyans in 2013 - and, most recently, the unjustifiable treatment of
not accept a peace offer after the collapse of France. But, wrote Churchill, Hitler did not understand the separate resources of an Island state and the will of the British people to fight on rather than surrender to the power of Germany’s hitherto all-conquering war machine. It is self-evident a successful invasion of Britain and German occupation would have fundamentally changed the course of the war and of the history of Europe, but for that to happen the Germans needed mastery of the skies. It was a struggle between the British and German air forces on which the lives of the British people - and perhaps the freedom of the world - depended.
greater protectionism. It could also be that President Trump’s impatience with multilateral bodies might have contributed to the WTO’s credibility being undermined. Britain, with its large economy and international political clout, may seek to play - post-Brexit - an enhanced role in the organization as the nation tries to secure its future role on the global stage, including new trade partnerships. In competition with several candidates from other countries to become the new Director-General, the government has proposed a strong contender in the
difference. But the cost was high with the RAF suffering the loss of more than 500 pilots and aircrew, mostly young men in their 20s including volunteers from other countries. The eventual outcome was Hitler called off the invasion permanently and Britain was saved. In paying tribute to those concerned, Churchill praised the stamina and valour of the fighter pilots, called the ‘Few’, who, in his words, remained unconquerable and supreme - and this led to his inspiring words in the House of Commons that have become famous: ‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few’.
Sorry Harry, your attack on the Commonwealth was ill-informed and inaccurate the ‘Windrush’ generation, originally from the Caribbean, which is now under fresh consideration. It follows any wrongs that need to be righted cannot now be laid at the door of today’s Commonwealth. Of course, in the current global debate about racism the most serious issue is the disgrace of the slave trade. Britain has always been prepared to admit its involvement in this and, as recently as 2018 during a visit to Ghana, Prince Charles said ‘we can never forget that our past has sometimes borne witness to tragedy and loss and, at times, injustice’. He was referring to what he described as the ‘appalling atrocity of the slave trade’ that ‘left an indelible stain on the history of the world’, but it should be remembered Britain had legislated at the beginning of the 19th century to outlaw the slave trade and used the Royal Navy to enforce its ban – and, at the time of a visit to Jamaica five years ago, thethen Prime Minister David Cameron ruled out the payment of reparations to the descendants of slaves in the Caribbean. It seems many people are both disappointed and surprised that, while declining to mention anything positive about the Commonwealth, the Prince should now be saying, in effect, the overarching priority of the organization should be to atone for its alleged wrongs. Such remarks are ill-informed and historically inaccurate. His stance is also inconsistent with what his grandmother has been trying to do over the years to foster links and co-operation. It is noteworthy, too, that the Commonwealth has a good record in confronting colonial oppression; for example, in helping to bring about the end of apartheid
IS IT TIME FOR A WILY OLD FOX? WITHOUT being aware of the latest developments, I understand The Bahamas is still in the frame for membership at some point of the World Trade Organization. So it is interesting to note that its Director-General – a Brazilian, Roberto Azevedo – is leaving his post in August thus cutting short his second term in office by a year. The reason for his early departure is not clear but it is presumably connected with the general view that the WTO needs to be reformed and its rules updated to take account of changes in the international economy as the world moves towards
The evidence shows that what became known as the Battle of Britain was regarded as a ‘closerun affair’ and the RAF emerged triumphant by a narrow margin. Despite the Germans’ numerical superiority in both fighters and bombers, the RAF was well equipped with the famous Spitfires and Hurricanes and succeeded in repelling most of what the German air force, the Luftwaffe, threw at it – including the bombing of London and other cities known as the blitz. Churchill also commented that Britain’s radar system and sophisticated ground-control network, which gave early warning of Luftwaffe raids, made a significant
person of Dr Liam Fox, a former UK Secretary of State for International Trade with wide experience of global politics, who would be well placed to bring about reform of the WTO and to oversee and direct its traditional role of helping to negotiate multilateral trade deals and settle trade disputes. It has also been suggested he would be able to build bridges with the US. Dr Fox is reported to have stressed the importance of using trade to promote peace and human progress, and it will be interesting to follow developments.
WISE WORDS? Harry and Meghan
in South Africa and of white minority rule in Rhodesia in the 1970s. The Commonwealth is all about consensus, cooperation and working constructively, through the close links at the heart of the organization, to improve the lives of its citizens and to contribute to global peace. Long may this worthy and unique body on the world stage continue to flourish – and there is no need to start raking over its past history!
PAGE 12, Tuesday, July 14, 2020
#10 Palmetto Avenue & Acklins Street P.O. Box N-3572 Nassau, Bahamas Tel: (242) 326-5773
Funeral Service for Matriarch Eulamae Seymour-Hepburn, 94 a resident of St. Vincent Road and formerly of Orange Creek, Cat Island, who died on 30th June 2020, will be held on Thursday 16th July 2020 at 11:00 a.m., at Grant’s Town Wesley Methodist Church, Baillou Hill Road & Chapel Street. Officiating will be Rev. L. Carla R. Culmer (President of Bahamas Conference of the Methodist Church) and Rev. Manette Poitier. Interment will follow in Woodlawn Gardens Cemetery, Soldier Road. She is survived by: Her only Daughter: Ruby Hepburn-Cambridge; Adopted Children: Vernetta Stubbs of Orange Creek, Cat Island and Prince Albert Hepburn of Freeport, Grand Bahama; Step-children: Rosedell McDonald and Franklyn Hepburn; Grand-children: James, Lawrence and Monique Cambridge, Willamae and Bernard Cash; Great Grandchildren: Bernique Cash, Cravannay Taylor-Cambridge, Tremecko and Shanta Cambridge; Great-great Grandchildren: Christian Saintville and Carliyaa Penn; Godchildren: Alworth Rolle, Marcus Newbold and Tangy Burrows; Nieces & Nephews: Bennett, Henry, Don, Ross, Jerry, Lawrence, Carnal Seymour Jr., Francetta, Remelda, Mildred, Miriam, Patty, Shirley Francis McIntosh, Marva, Melissa, Sandra, Stephanie ‘Penny’ Seymour and Emeline Lockhart; Grandnieces & nephews including: Emrick Seymour, Mark Forbes, Renee Wiklund, Shirley Moncur, Kemuel Stubbs and Patrice Farrington; Other Relatives & Friends including: Chief Apostle Leon and Leonie Wallace, Newtie Seymour of Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera, Grace Hepburn, Melvise Seymour, Bronelle Dean, Miriam Davis, Irene Rolle, Bertha White, Betty Whylly, Sherla Newbold-Rolle, Annie Nora Burrows and Olivia Bowles of Orange Creek, Cat Island, Levina Campbell, Vera Moss, Lavanda Larrimore, Nathalie Bonimy, Alma Taylor, Alice Stubbs, Minister Cleo Cash, Rev. Manette Poitier, Rev. L. Carla R. Culmer, Great Bethel Methodist Church Family, the entire community of Orange Creek, Voice of Deliverance Family, The Seymour, Hepburn, Newbold, Stubbs and Stuart Clans. Relatives and friends may pay their last respects at Newbold Brothers Funeral Chapel, Palmetto Avenue & Acklins Street off Market and East Streets on Wednesday 15th July 2020, from 10:00 a.m., until 5:00 p.m., and on Thursday at the church from 10:00 a.m., until service time.
THE TRIBUNE
CALIFORNIA HEADING TO SHUTDOWN SACRAMENTO Associated Press
CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom yesterday extended the closure of bars and indoor dining statewide and ordered gyms, churches and hair salons closed in most places as coronavirus cases keep rising in the nation’s most populated state. On July 1, Newsom ordered 19 counties with a surging number of confirmed infections to close bars and indoor operations at restaurants, wineries, zoos and family entertainment centers like bowling alleys and miniature golf. The Democratic governor extended that order statewide yesterday. He also imposed additional restrictions on the 30 counties now with rising numbers, including the most populated of Los Angeles and San Diego, by ordering worship services to stop and gyms, hair salons, indoor
PEOPLE at San Francisco Zoo yesterday malls and offices for noncritical industries to shut down. “The data suggests not everybody is practicing common sense,” said Newsom, whose order takes effect immediately. He didn’t include schools, which are scheduled to resume in a few weeks in much of the state. But Monday, the state’s two largest school districts, San Diego and Los Angeles,
announced their students would start the school year with online learning only. LA Unified is the secondlargest public school district in the country. In March, California was the first state to issue a mandatory, statewide stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The order appeared to work as cases stabilized in the ensuing weeks while other states grappled
with huge increases. But the order devastated the world’s fifth-largest economy, with more than 7.5 million people filing for unemployment benefits. Newsom moved quickly to let most businesses reopen in May. Like other states that took similar steps, a subsequent rise in cases and hospitalizations led him to impose new restrictions this month. Newsom has compared his strategy of opening and closing businesses as a “dimmer switch,” highlighting the flexibility needed as public health officials monitor the virus’s progress California confirmed 8,358 new coronavirus cases on Sunday. Cases have increased 47% over the past two weeks, while hospitalizations have jumped 28% during the same time period. Overall, California has reported more than 329,100 cases and more than 7,000 deaths.
US deficit hits record $864bn WASHINGTON Associated Press
The federal government incurred the biggest monthly budget deficit in history in June as spending on programs to combat the coronavirus recession exploded while millions of job losses cut into tax revenues. The Treasury Department reported Monday that the deficit hit $864 billion last month, an amount of red ink that surpasses most annual deficits in
the nation’s history and is above the previous monthly deficit record of $738 billion in April. That amount was also tied to the trillions of dollars Congress has provided to cushion the impact of the widespread shutdowns that occurred in an effort to limit the spread of the viral pandemic. For the first nine months of this budget year, which began Oct. 1, the deficit totals $2.74 trillion, also a record for that period. That puts the country well on the way to hitting the $3.7 trillion deficit for the whole year that has been forecast by the Congressional Budget Office. That total would surpass the previous annual record of $1.4 trillion set in 2009 when the government was spending heavily to lift the country out of the recession caused by the 2008 financial crisis. The June deficit was driven higher by spending on various government relief programs such as an extra $600 per week in expanded unemployment benefits and a Paycheck Protection Program that provided support to businesses to keep workers on their payrolls. The report showed that the cost of the Paycheck Protection Program in June was $511 billion. That reflected a charge to the government for all the bank loans made under the program even though
the government will not actually have to pay out funds until the banks determine whether the businesses met the criteria for having the loans forgiven. Those requirements include spending at least 60% of the loan amount on worker pay with the other 40% going to overhead costs such as rent and utilities. Another reason for the surge in the June deficit was the government’s decision to delay tax payments this year until July 15. That decision mean that quarterly payments made by individual taxpayers and corporations will not be due until July 15 this year rather than June. So far this budget year, revenues total $2.26 trillion, down 13.4% from the same period last year, while spending totals $5 trillion, up 49.1% from a year ago. The CBO estimate of a $3.7 trillion deficit for this year could go higher depending on the course of the economy. The country fell into a deep recession in February, ending a record long expansion of nearly 11 years. The Trump administration is predicting that the economy will come roaring back in second half of this year but many private forecasters are concerned that a resurgence of virus cases could make consumers too fearful to resume spending, which drives 70% of the economy.
• THE Trump administration escalated its actions against China yesterday by stepping squarely into one of the most sensitive regional issues dividing them and rejecting outright nearly all of Beijing’s significant maritime claims in the South China Sea. The administration presented the decision as an attempt to curb China’s increasing assertiveness in the region with a commitment to recognising international law. But it will almost certainly have the more immediate effect of further infuriating the Chinese, who are already retaliating against numerous US.sanctions and other penalties on other matters. It also comes as President Donald Trump has come under growing fire for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, stepped up criticism of China ahead of the 2020 election and sought to paint his expected Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, as weak on China. Previously, US policy had been to insist that maritime disputes between China and its smaller neighbors be resolved peacefully through UN-backed arbitration. But in a statement released Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. now regards virtually all Chinese maritime claims outside its internationally recognised waters to be illegitimate.
KELLY PRESTON, WIFE OF JOHN TRAVOLTA, DIES AT 57 LOS ANGELES Associated Press
KELLY Preston, who played dramatic and comic foil to actors ranging from Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire to Arnold Schwarzenegger in Twins, died on Sunday. She was 57. Her husband John Travolta said in an Instagram post that his wife of 28 years died after a two-year battle with breast cancer. “It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer,” Travolta said. “She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many.” The couple had three children together. Born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith on Oct. 13, 1962, in Hawaii, Preston had a lengthy acting career in movies and television. She was first married to actor Kevin Gage. They divorced in 1987. The year after, Preston met Travolta while shooting
KELLY Preston and John Travolta in June, 2018 the 1989 film The Experts, a box-office flop about a Soviet KGB agent who hires hip New Yorkers to update the spy program’s understanding of American society. They meet on the dance floor after Travolta asks, “Does anyone here know how to dance.” Preston responds: “I know how to dance.” In January 2009, Jett Travolta, 16, died after a seizure at the family’s vacation home in The Bahamas. The death touched off a court
case after an ambulance driver and his attorney were accused of trying to extort $25 million from the actors in exchange for not releasing sensitive information about their son’s death. Travolta testified during a criminal trial that ended in a mistrial and was prepared to testify a second time, but decided to stop pursuing the case and it was dismissed. He cited the severe strain the proceedings and his son’s death had caused the family.
SPORTS SECTION E
NBA, SEE PAGE 16
TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2020
‘Buddy’ joins Kings in bubble By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
C
havano “Buddy” Hield cleared the initial COVID-19 protocol and joined the remainder of the Sacramento Kings in Orlando, Florida, for the NBA 2020 season restart. Hield will now be required to quarantine at the Kings’ designated hotel at the Walt Disney World - the Yacht Club Resort. To return to participation in team activities, Hield has to test negative for COVID-19 twice at least 24 hours apart. Hield was one of three players and an additional undisclosed member of the Kings organisation
to test positive in June as leaguewide testing began in preparation for its return to the court. The league’s protocol mandates that players with a positive test were required to quarantine and produce two negative tests in order to receive clearance to join the team in Orlando. Players were also unable to train or exercise during the two-week period from the date of the positive test. Hield and forward Jabari Parker have joined the team in Orlando, while centre Alex Len has not been cleared. The Kings will scrimmage three times, with the first occurring on July 22. They begin the official seeding games and NBA restart on July 31, when they will face the San Antonio Spurs.
BUDDY HIELD The remainder of the Kings’ schedule includes matchups against the Orlando Magic (August 2), Dallas Mavericks (August 4),
New Orleans Pelicans (August 6), Brooklyn Nets (August 7), Houston Rockets (August 9), Pelicans (August 11), and Los Angeles Lakers (August 13). Hield returned to the court on June 10 for competitive play for the first time since March when the pandemic sidelined the NBA. The Kings sharpshooter participated in the Skinz League Tournament at the Hive Sports Complex in Edmond, Oklahoma and scored 45 points, including 13 made three pointers. Through 64 games this season, Hield is averaging 19.8 points per game and is shooting 40 per cent from beyond the arc, making 3.8 three-point field goals in about 10 attempts per game. Hield also added 4.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
John’s College, said she decided to join the camp to improve her skills as a member of the Giants’ basketball team when they participated in the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools’ season when school reopens. “I want to better my skills,” said Green, who hopes to one day become a professional basketball player. “So far, it (the camp) has been good. I am enjoying it.” Jasmin Roker, one of the two instructors helping out McSweeney, said the
SEE PAGE 14
SEE PAGE 14
DIAMOND LEAGUE BASKETBALL CAMP GETS UNDERWAY MARCIA Hall and Reyanah Green were the first two participants to attend the Diamond League Basketball Camp that got underway yesterday at the Hope Center Church. Held in memory of the late Jonique ‘Mini’ Webb and coach Sherman Smith, the camp didn’t have the numbers that coach Terrance ‘Red Eye’ McSweeney had anticipated, but as the daily sessions run through August 15, he anticipates the participation to
increase. Webb, a former versatile athlete whom McSweeney coached at basketball, is being honoured during the segment for girls from 9am to noon, while Smith, who McSweeney assisted with his programme at Carlton E Francis, is being honoured during the boys’ segment from 1-4pm. McSweeney said in all things, the bible has taught him to “give God thanks and so I’m thankful for the two participants so far in the Diamond League Development Camp. “I’m expecting the camp to be rather slow this week as all camps that I’ve had
in the past were all slow on the first day and then on the second day, things start to pick up.” He encouraged parents to take advantage of the safe environment to enrol their children in the camp that will run from Monday to Friday for the next five weeks. “We anticipate that the numbers will definitely increase as the weeks go on,” he insisted. Here on her summer break from Eleuthera where she attended the Harbour Island AllAged School, Hall, the daughter of sportscaster Marcellus Hall, said she
decided to attend the camp because she enjoys playing basketball. “It’s actually fun for me and I got to learn a lot of new stuff,” said Hall, who admitted that she was interested in basketball through her mother, but her father has pushed her. In attending the camp, the 10-year-old said she “hopes to get better at it” because he feels that the instructors will be able to “help me along if I do something wrong and if I am doing something wrong, they will help me to get it right.” Green, a 12-year-old entering grade nine at St
By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net TUREANO Johnson has been added to a list of potential opponents for middleweight champion and super middleweight titleist Canelo Alvarez. Golden Boy Promotions President, Eric Gomez, said Johnson - the current WBC North American Boxing Federation champion - has been added to a list of prospective contenders that includes John Ryder Sergiy Derevyanchenko, Callum Smith, Anthony Dirrell and Jason Quigley. Alvarez’s next fight is scheduled on DAZN on September 12. Gomez said the fight was as much about navigating the economy of the sport through the pandemic as it is about matching styles to make an appealing fight. “We’re not going to close the door, we’re not going to handicap ourselves, especially right now during the pandemic. You need all the help you can get,” he told ESPN. “Some do, and then there’s other fighters who need to wake up and don’t understand it’s a different world we’re living in now.” Gomez reiterated the the organisations stance on Canelo’s direction with Sky Sports. “Canelo’s always available to fight the best, he always wants to fight the best. The problem right now is fighters have to be reasonable -- everyone has to be reasonable. So the first guy to step up and is reasonable, and understands we’re in a pandemic, that’s probably the guy who’s going to get the fight,” he said. “Because it’s not like [where] we were a year ago when everything was normal and fine, and everything was business as usual. It’s not business as usual, right now. We’re in a pandemic.” Johnson was scheduled to fight on April 4 in Moscow, Russia, against Magomed Madiev, but that was called off due to the pandemic. Now sporting a 21-2-1 win-loss-draw record, Johnson is coming off a victory over the previously undefeated Quigley on July 18 for the NABF middleweight title at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California. Just after his win over Quigley, Johnson was ranked No.8 in the World Boxing Council and No.15 in the International Boxing Federation. Prior to that, Johnson ended up with a
COORDINATOR Terrance ‘Red Eye’ McSweeney shows Raven Jones, Marcia Hall and Jasmin Roker how to dribble the ball.
By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
TUREANO JOHNSON ON LIST FOR ALVAREZ FIGHT
All Comers Meet: Anthonique Strachan 3rd in 100m By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN Olympic sprinter Anthonique Strachan had to settle for a third place finish in the women’s 100 metres on Saturday at the Velocity Fest 2020 All Comers Meet at the Ashenheim Stadium. The privately ran one-day meet was held four months after sports started to return to some sense of normalcy from the spread of the coronavirus pandemic that halted all activities worldwide in March. In windy conditions throughout the afternoon, Strachan was featured in one of the marquee events of the meet in the women’s 100m where Olympic and world champion Shelly-Ann
Fraser-Pryce sped to victory in the meet that was closed to the general public and the media. Fraser-Pryce, a mother now representing Nike, outclassed the field to easily win in a worldleading time of 11.00 seconds in a negative wind reading of 2.2 metres per second. Shashalee Forbes of Sprintec Track Club’s was second in 11.49. Also competing for the MVP Track Club, Strachan followed in third in 11.84 in the straightaway race. The Bahamian CARIFTA Games’ 2011 and 2012 Austin Sealy most outstanding award winner is working towards her prominence on the senior stage after she completed her junior career in 2012 as the World Junior champion in both the 100 and 200m.
ANTHONIQUE STRACHAN in action in this file photo.
Although she had to battle through a series of injuries over the past few years, Strachan went on to represent the Bahamas at the 2012 Olympics in London, England and in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as well as the World Championships in 2017 in London, England and last year in Doha, Qatar. She also ran the third leg of the Bahamas’ 4 x 400m mixed relay team, consisting of Steven Gardiner, Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Michael Mathieu that claimed the gold as the curtain came down on the third version of the World Relays held at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium in 2017. With her 27th birthday coming up on August 22, the St Augustine’s College graduate has her name inked personal best times
of 11.20 in the century in 2012 and 22.32 in the half-lap race in 2013. She has also produced a lifetime best of 52.42 in the 400m in 2016 and 7.47 in the 60m indoors in 2018. Among the other events in the meet on Saturday in Jamaica, 2019 World Championship 400m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson, also of MVP, took the 200m in 22.89 over fellow team-mate Elaine Thompson-Herah. Thompson-Herah, the 2016 Olympic double sprint champion, placed second in 22.98 with Forbes coming in third in 23.45. Nesta Carter, also from MVP who is making his return to action after a doping suspension, took the men’s 100m crown in 10.38 with two-time World Championships’ bronze medallist Asafa Powell finishing sixth in 10.51.
PAGE 14, Tuesday, July 14, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
Washington’s NFL team drops ‘Redskins’ name after 87 years By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington NFL franchise announced yesterday it is dropping the “Redskins” name and Indian head logo, bowing to recent pressure from sponsors and decades of criticism that they are offensive to Native Americans. A new name must still be selected for one of the oldest and most storied teams in the National Football League, and it was unclear how soon that will happen. But for now, arguably the most polarising name in North American professional sports is gone at a time of reckoning over racial injustice, iconography and racism in the US. The move came less than two weeks after owner Dan Snyder, a boyhood fan of the team who once declared he would never get rid of the name, launched a “thorough review” amid pressure from sponsors. FedEx, Nike, Pepsi and Bank of America all lined up against the name, which was given to the franchise in 1933 when the team was still based in Boston. The team said it is “retiring” the name and logo and that Snyder and coach Ron Rivera are working closely to develop a new moniker and design. The announcement came on the old letterhead with the Redskins name because the team technically retains it until a new one is chosen and approved. Native American advocates and experts have long criticised the name they call a “dictionary-defined racial slur.” Over a dozen Native leaders and organisations wrote to NFL Commissioner
NATIVE American leaders protest against the Redskins team name outside US Bank Stadium before an NFL game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Washington Redskins in Minneapolis on October 24, 2019. (AP) Roger Goodell last week demanding an immediate end to Washington’s use of the name. Goodell, who has fielded questions on the topic for years, said he supported the review. Protests against the name predate Snyder buying the team in 1999, and, until now, he had shown no willingness to consider a change. Strong words from sponsors — including a company run by a minority stakeholder of the team — changed the equation. FedEx earlier this month became the first sponsor to announce it had asked the organisation to change the name, particularly important because CEO Frederick Smith owns part of the team. FedEx paid
$205 million for the longterm naming rights to the team’s stadium in Landover, Maryland. The lease at FedEx Field expires in 2027, and dropping the name keeps open various possibilities in Maryland, Virginia and Washington for the team’s new stadium and headquarters. District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser has said the name was an “obstacle” to Snyder building on the old RFK Stadium site, which is believed to be his preference. The team recently started cutting ties with racist founder George Preston Marshall, removing his name from the Ring of Fame and renaming the lower bowl at FedEx Field for the team’s first Black
player, late Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell. Marshall, who renamed the Boston Braves the Redskins in 1933 and moved the team to DC four years later, was a segregationist and the last NFL owner to integrate his team. The current logo shows the profile of a red-faced Native American with feathers in his hair. Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves and the National Hockey League’s Chicago Blackhawks have said they have no inclination to change their names. Some advocates would like to see all Native American names, mascots and imagery out of sports. Long removed from the glory days of winning Super Bowl titles in the 1982, 1987 and 1991 seasons under
coach Joe Gibbs, Washington’s NFL team has just five playoff appearances in 21 years and no postseason victories since 2005. The team has lacked a nationally marketable player since Robert Griffin III’s short-lived stardom, and the 2020 schedule features zero prime-time games for a franchise that used to be a draw. Re-branding with a new name and logo — and perhaps the same burgundy and gold colours — coupled with turning football operations over to Rivera could be a boon for Snyder on and off the field. Even if a segment of the fan base opposes the change in the name of tradition, winning would more than make up for those losses.
RUSSIAN TRACK PRESIDENT RESIGNS MOSCOW (AP) — The president of the Russian track federation resigned yesterday after less than five months in the job amid a stalemate with World Athletics regarding the country’s longstanding doping suspension and an unpaid $5 million fine. In a brief statement on the federation website, Yevgeny Yurchenko didn’t give a reason for stepping down. He said he wished his successor could “move forward to resolve the nearly five-year-long difficulties in relations with World Athletics and also make it possible to attract enough funding to develop the federation.” The federation, known as RusAF, missed a July 1 deadline to pay the $5 million fine and $1.3 million in costs. Yurchenko said at the time it couldn’t afford to pay. The fine was imposed after Yurchenko admitted wrongdoing on behalf of RusAF under its previous leadership. The federation had been accused of providing forged documents to give an athlete an alibi for being unavailable for doping testing. RusAF has been suspended since 2015 for widespread doping. Also yesterday, the president of the Russian Olympic Committee said in comments reported by state news agencies that an audit of the country’s anti-doping agency’s finances revealed irregularities. The allegations could not immediately be verified, but ROC president Stanislav Pozdnyakov was quoted as saying the audit would be made public.
NFL, OAKLEY COME UP WITH FACE SHIELDS TO PROTECT PLAYERS By SIMMI BUTTAR AP Pro Football Writer NEW YORK (AP) — With NFL training camps set to start at the end of the month, the league believes it is closer to one answer when it comes to player safety amid the coronavirus pandemic: face shields for the players’ helmets. The NFL and the players’ union agreed to several protocols in a 42-page document last week, including team travel, media and treatment response. They have also updated the facilities protocol, specifically addressing training camp, using recommendations from a joint committee of doctors, trainers and strength coaches. However, the two sides haven’t agreed on testing and screening protocols for the coronavirus. One idea suggested by the union’s medical director, Dr Thom Mayer, to help control the spread of the virus was to have players wear face masks. The league’s engineers and a
TUREANO from PAGE 13
draw against Fernando Castaneda on February 9 at the same venue. Those two matches came after Johnson got back into the ring after he suffered the second loss of his career on August 25, 2017, to Serhiy Derevianchenko at the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Florida. Johnson has won three minor titles. His first came on July 11, 2004 when he pulled off a 10-round unanimous decision over Mike Gavronski for the vacant WBC Continental of Americas middleweight crown at the Little Creek Casino Resort in Shelton, Washington. He went on to claim the WBC Silver and WBA international middleweight
sports equipment company tested prototypes for the masks, but players shot it down. “We’ve had a real robust discussion around it that stretches back a number of months,” said Dr Allen Sills, the league’s chief medical officer. “From the start, the NFL Players Association, their medical advisers, their engineers have been engaged with us. We’ve also had dialogue with players along the way trying to look at early prototypes and developments.” The face shield was designed by Oakley, which already provides visors for the players. “We have well over 700 players that used the visors last year,” said Renie Anderson, chief revenue officer and executive vice president of NFL Partnerships. The face shield has received a better response than the mask suggestion. “The player feedback was integral in coming up with this design,” said Dr Jeff Crandall, chairman of the NFL’s Engineering
title in Madison Square Gardens, New York City, New York over Alex Theran on January 9, 2015. “We knew that the virus has hampered us for a while, but like Bahamians, boxers are resilient and so we knew it was just a matter of time that it would return,” Johnson previously told the Tribune. “We are looking for another world champion Jamie Munguia, who is also a part of Golden Boys Promotions. Both of us are in the same club, so that fight should be easily made. Right now we are in deep talks to make that fight happen.” Having returned home, Johnson was hoping to stay physically fit and in shape as his promoters from the Golden Boy Promotions DAZN continue to negotiate for
Committee. “They (Oakley) would start with this design and say: ‘Do you like this one better or this one? How’s your field of view on this one?’ “At the end, they did have feedback from players. This was their choice for the players they’ve evaluated so far. I think each player is going to have an evaluation for themselves in terms of exactly how they favour one concept versus another.” Crandall said Oakley came up with the design. “Clear plastic with slits or holes in it that block any direct path of a droplet, but do promote air flow, communication, soundwaves,” he said. “They had a visor that covers the eyes. What could we do to cover the mouth and nose area?” Crandall added. “So they came up with a mouth shield that tried to keep the field of view as much as possible; you don’t want to block the lower part. You want to promote breathing and not a sense of restriction. You
want to maximise comfort. “Prevention from touching the face was also a consideration, and obviously the biggest consideration was how can you mitigate the exchange of droplets,” he said. Sills noted the shield was designed to deal with how the virus spreads. “Just like any face shield or facemask for that matter, you’re thinking about the aerosolisation of droplets and the spread of it via that mechanism, which is starting to be recognised as the more important mode of transmission.” Given sports’ shutdown in March because of COVID-19, this will be the first season that NFL players try to get ready on the field after conducting minicamps virtually during the offseason. “We often say physical distance and football don’t go together, pretty impossible to keep six feet apart on the field, so that causes you to look for other innovations which could possibly be a flag bearer, and we
CAMP from PAGE 13
the mandatory fight for a shot at the World Boxing Association (WBA) world middleweight title. “I’m training as hard as I could. I want to become the next Bahamian world champion and so I’m in dire need of getting in the best shape that I can without any interruptions.”
camp is all about learning the game of basketball and having a fun time in the process. “This is just the first day, so it’s a bit slow,” said Roker, who will be entering the 12th grade at St John’s and will also be playing a pivotal role on the Giants’ basketball team. “We want to encourage the others to come out. We are thankful that we only have two people today, but I’m hoping that they leave having learnt a lot.” Raven Jones, the other instructor who is also a member of the Giants’ basketball team, who will be entering the 11th grade at St John’s, said the camp will be good for the participants.
THIS photo provided by Oakley shows a new face shield designed by Oakley. With NFL training camps set to start at the end of the month, the league believes it is closer to one answer when it comes to player safety in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic: Face shields for the players’ helmets. (AP) think this falls into that category,” Sills said. With training camps scheduled to start in a couple of weeks, there’s still no timeline for the helmets with face shields to make their debut. “We’re actively working with players even this coming week looking at
prototypes, so we will love to have them rolled out by the time we start,” Sills stated. “Obviously we won’t be starting helmeted activities right when training camp starts, that’s a little bit of a down-the-road thing. We would love to get them on board from the get-go.”
“I’ve already seen some improvement in the two that came out so far,” she stated. “We just want to help them to get better and improve on their skills.” During the first week, McSweeney said the campers will get the opportunity to work on their ball-handling skills on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and today and Thursday on shooting. “The whole premise of the first four weeks of this five-week camp is to develop the child,” McSweeney pointed out. “If it is a first time or they want to work on their skills for GSSSA or BAISS and they want to do some summer training, we will provide that. “Diamond Basketball Development is a very slow process. We take our time and we work with you. I
encourage your daughter, in the morning sessions, to make as many mistakes that you want to make, but come the second and third weeks, I want you to limit those mistakes as much as possible.” By the fifth and final week of the camp, McSweeney said they will concentrate on playing a lot of games with the participants before they end with an awards presentation session. The camp, for girls between the ages of 8-16 years and 8-11 for boys, is designed to help keep the memories of Webb and Smith alive. Webb passed away at the age of 30 on January 19 after a battle with lupus and 53-year-old Smith died on April 22, having been diagnosed earlier with sickle cell that led to complications with COVID-19.
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, July 14, 2020, PAGE 15
COURT RULING, LATE GOAL HURT MAN U’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE HOPES MANCHESTER, England (AP) — A ruling in a Swiss court (see story below) and the concession of a late, late goal ensured the Champions League qualification places remain tantalisingly out of reach for Manchester United in the English Premier League. United missed a chance to climb back into the top four of the league for the first time since September when Southampton substitute Michael Obafemi scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time to secure a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford yesterday. It was the latest twist in a turbulent race for Champions League qualification, coming on the day secondplaced Manchester City overturned its two-year
ban from European competition at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. That means a finish in the top four is required to get into next season’s Champion League, rather than in the top five. Obafemi’s dramatic close-range strike at a corner kept United in fifth place, behind Leicester only on goal difference with three games remaining. Chelsea is one point ahead of them in third place. Those three teams are realistically fighting for two Champions League qualification spots behind Liverpool, the champion, and City. On the final day of the season, Leicester hosts United at King Power Stadium in what could be a highly lucrative, winnertakes-all match.
SOUTHAMPTON’S MICHAEL OBAFEMI, centre, is congratulated by teammates after scoring against Manchester United yesterday. (AP) “You just have to be strong and take it,” United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said of the gut-punch that denied his team a fifth straight victory. “Because we have won so many games like that ourselves.
“We probably didn’t deserve three points today.” United was slightly unfortunate, however. The match went so deep into added-on time only following a facial injury to substitute Brandon Williams, which left United with 10 men for the final three minutes because Solskjaer had used all five of his replacements. Southampton won a corner soon after, and Jan Bednarek flicked the ball on at the near post to allow Obafemi to glance home from barely a yard (metre) out. United had enough chances to win a game in which it fell behind in the 12th minute, when Stuart Armstrong scored after Paul Pogba was dispossessed outside United’s penalty area. Two goals
from United in a threeminute span turned things around, with Anthony Martial setting up Marcus Rashford’s low strike into the corner for the 20th-minute equaliser before scoring himself by cutting inside from the left and firing home a rising shot for his 50th Premier League goal. With former manager Alex Ferguson watching in the virtually empty stands at Old Trafford, United was made to work hard by a Southampton side sitting in mid-table and with little to play for in the final weeks of the season. Luke Shaw hobbled off with a right ankle injury for United, leading to Williams’ introduction in the 75th, and Pogba was also taken off — for football reasons as opposed to injury.
The France international struggled at times, twice getting dispossessed while dawdling on the ball as Southampton targeted him with its high-energy pressing game. He was substituted after 63 minutes. Still, United could easily have won, with Rashford and Martial wasting good chances that they created themselves. “We were not at our best,” United captain Harry Maguire said. “There are loads of areas we could improve on but we did enough to win the game.” Solskjaer fielded the same starting lineup for the fifth straight game and may decide to freshen things up for the next match in this gruelling end to the season, at Crystal Palace on Thursday.
MANCHESTER CITY OVERTURNS 2-YEAR BAN FROM CHAMPIONS LEAGUE By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — Manchester City successfully overturned its two-year ban from the Champions League yesterday in a surprising legal victory. The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld City’s appeal against the UEFA ban, but imposed a 10 million euro ($11.3 million) fine on the club for failing to cooperate with independent investigators. Some UEFA allegations accusing City of finance rules violations dating back several years were not proven and others were “timebarred,” the court said. CAS plans to publish a detailed written verdict within days. That could help explain why UEFA’s case did not comply with its own internal rules, and show how other evidence was weighed. Man City joins Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Galatasaray in beating UEFA in appeal cases related to finance monitoring rules in the past two years. The decision by the three CAS judges clears the team coached by Pep Guardiola to play in the
group stage of the Champions League next season. The case does not affect City’s place in this season’s competition, which resumes next month. City’s win guarantees tens of millions of dollars in UEFA prize money next season. It also protects against players leaving to seek Champions League action with another club. Guardiola had pledged to stay in Manchester “no matter what happens” in the courts. “The club welcomes the implications of today’s ruling as a validation of the club’s position and the body of evidence that it was able to present,” City said in a statement. UEFA punished Man City in February for “serious breaches” of finance monitoring rules and failing to cooperate with investigators. The allegations included that City, owned by Abu Dhabi’s royal family, misled UEFA over several years to meet financial integrity rules — known as Financial Fair Play — required to enter European club competitions. City denied wrongdoing, and said it had “irrefutable evidence” the claims were not true. “The
CAS award emphasised that most of the alleged breaches reported by the Adjudicatory Chamber of the (UEFA club finance panel) were either not established or time-barred,” the court said. City’s win will raise doubts about the future of the UEFA Financial Fair Play programme, created in 2009 after the global financial crisis. The system was used to ban several clubs, including Galatasaray in 2016, from one season of UEFA competitions. City was the first club to be banned for two years. In a statement, UEFA pointed blame at its own club finance investigators and judges for “insufficient conclusive evidence to uphold all of the (panel’s) conclusions” and not meeting a five-year statute of limitations. UEFA could choose to challenge the CAS ruling at Switzerland’s supreme court. Federal appeals in CAS cases rarely succeed and only consider narrow grounds of legal procedure. The urgent ruling came one month after a three-day hearing held by video link between Switzerland and England. A full verdict detailing the evidence,
expert witness testimony and the judges’ reasons is due within days. UEFA-appointed investigators opened a case after leaked club emails and documents from City officials were published by German magazine Der Spiegel in November 2018. They were likely obtained by a hacker from Portugal. The published evidence appeared to show City deceived UEFA by overstating sponsorship deals from 2012-16 and hid the source of revenue linked to statebacked companies in Abu Dhabi. City never disputed the documents were authentic, but argued the evidence was stolen and reported out of context. It was unclear yesterday what part the leaked documents ultimately played in the case. UEFA had previously signed off on City’s submitted accounts since 2014. That year, UEFA fined City 20 million euros ($22.6 million) of its Champions League prize money in a first wave of assessments of European clubs’ finances. French champion PSG got the same fine in a similar case. UEFA decided to create the FFP system 11 years ago to
stabilise the soccer economy by monitoring finances of 200-plus clubs which qualify each year for its competitions. Clubs must approach break-even on commercial income and spending on transfers and salaries. Sponsor deals linked to wealthy owners must be set at fair market rates. Critics of FFP argue it protects storied clubs with a huge fan base from being challenged by ambitious rivals with state support, like Man City and Qatar-owned PSG. UEFA said yesterday it and the European Club Association “remain committed to its principles.” The UEFA rules will be challenged again at CAS this week. Turkish title contender Trabzonspor is appealing against a one-year ban for failing to abide by an earlier settlement deal. The fine to be paid to UEFA will benefit other clubs, including City rivals Liverpool and Manchester United. UEFA rules require that Financial Fair Play fines — in most cases, prize money deductions — must be redistributed among other clubs who play in the Champions League or Europa League that season.
PAGE 16, Tuesday, July 14, 2020
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Rockets’ Westbrook has virus, as NBA bubble faces first test By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (AP) — Houston’s Russell Westbrook hasn’t made it to the NBA restart yet. The coronavirus did — but health protocols seemed to work as the league and its players hoped they would. On a day of troubling news for the league — Westbrook revealing that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and two other players facing 10-day quarantines for leaving the league campus perimeter at Walt Disney World — it was also announced that two players tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving in Central Florida last week. But neither player made it out of quarantine, so neither entered the so-called bubble and could mingle freely with other players, coaches and staff. The NBA said both players, neither of whom were identified, “have since left the Campus to isolate at home or in isolation housing.” “Our protocols are unbelievable,” Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry said. “I think our protocols and our health and safety measures have been top-notch. I think this thing will work perfectly. ... We’re doing everything that we can possibly do to make sure that we’re healthy, we’re safe and we’re in an environment where we can be successful and do our jobs at a high level.” It’s unclear when Westbrook will arrive. As recently as Sunday, the Rockets believed that Westbrook and James Harden — neither of whom travelled with the team to Walt Disney World near Orlando last week — would be with the team in the next few days. In Westbrook’s case, that now seems most unlikely. “I tested positive for COVID-19 prior to my teams departure to Orlando,” Westbrook wrote on his social media channels. “I’m currently feeling well, quarantined, and looking forward to rejoining my teammates when I am cleared.”
ROCKETS guard Russell Westbrook, left, dribbles next to Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, right, during the first half of an NBA game in Portland, Oregon, on January 29. (AP Photo/Steve Dykes) Westbrook is averaging 27.5 points, eight rebounds and seven assists per game for the Rockets this season. Houston has clinched a playoff spot and resumes its season with the first of eight seeding games on July 31 against Dallas. “I’m praying for his safety and the same for his family,” Phoenix guard Devin Booker said. “Hopefully he can get healthy and get down here as soon as possible.” The league also said yesterday that 19 players newly tested positive since July 1 during in-market testing, meaning tests done before teams began arriving at Disney on July 7. Upon arrival at Disney, 322 players were tested with the two positives. “All we can do is try to stay optimistic about it and positive, and hopefully we can finish this season,” said Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, the reigning NBA Finals MVP. Inside the NBA bubble, however, optimism that the rules
established by the league and the players will work — even though some Disney parks reopened to visitors over the weekend and the MLS restart, also at the campus, has seen two teams leave after a spate of positive tests. “It’s a condition, a virus, that does not discriminate,” Phoenix coach Monty Williams said. “And we’re trying to do everything we can to keep our guys safe.” Those protocols that Lowry spoke of were designed to be taken seriously, and at least two players inside the NBA bubble have already paid a steep price for violating quarantine upon their teams’ respective arrivals last week. Sacramento’s Richaun Holmes revealed yesterday that he “briefly and accidentally” crossed the NBA campus line to pick up a food delivery. Under the NBA’s rules of the restart, he now has to spend 10 days in quarantine. Holmes said he had eight days left in quarantine.
“I apologise for my actions and look forward to rejoining my teammates for our playoff push,” Holmes wrote. Also yesterday, a person with knowledge of the situation said that Houston’s Bruno Caboclo was also serving a 10-day quarantine for crossing the campus line. Like Holmes, Caboclo also had eight days remaining Monday, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Rockets have not announced the sanction. Monday’s developments came on a day where more than 12,000 new cases were confirmed in Florida, now perhaps the hottest of virus hotspots in the US. And officials in Houston also called for that city to lock back down as area hospitals strain to accommodate patients sick with the coronavirus Westbrook also offered a word of caution. “Please take this virus seriously,” Westbrook wrote. “Be safe. Mask up!”
WNBA SEASON SCHEDULED TO TIP OFF ON JULY 25 NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA season is scheduled to tip off July 25 with all games that weekend dedicated to the Black Lives Matter movement. All 12 franchises will play the opening weekend and honour victims of police brutality and racial violence. Team uniforms will display Breonna Taylor’s name. Players will each have the option to continue to wear Taylor’s name on their jersey for subsequent games. Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency medical technician, was shot eight times by plainclothes Louisville police officers serving a narcotics search warrant at her apartment on March 13. No drugs were found. Her family and protesters around the country have called for swift action against the officers who shot Taylor. Additionally, throughout the season, players will wear warm-up shirts that display “Black Lives Matter” on the front and “Say Her Name” on the back. “As we build on the momentum for women’s sports and the WNBA from last season, we’re incredibly grateful to our broadcast partners who have shown a continued commitment to bringing the WNBA to fans across the country on their biggest platforms,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “This 2020 WNBA season will truly be one unlike any other, and we’re looking forward to using our collective platform to highlight the tremendous athletes in the WNBA as well as their advocacy for social change.” The league’s 24th season will be played at a single site in Bradenton, Florida. Each team will play a 22-game schedule, facing opponents twice. One game will be designated as a home game and the other one a road contest.