Captain of the Harbour Master, Neil Cooper, says Anderson Peters was, in fact, the aggressor in last week’s highly publicized incident on the vessel that led to the arrests of six men involved.
“It was an attack on the Harbour Master crew…not Anderson Peters,” Cooper said in a statement issued on Saturday.
The narrative all along was that the crew assaulted Peters, who won his second World title in the Javelin in Eugene last month, and then threw him overboard but Cooper says this couldn’t be further from the truth.
“On August 10, the crew and I had just successfully sailed the Recovery Cruise. I instructed the deckhand team to begin preparing the boat for our next cruise which was scheduled for 8 o’clock. After some time, I went to check on the crew and saw them asking a group of young men to leave the ship. My team tried encouraging the men to leave but again, the group (who I didn’t know at the time included World Champion Anderson Peters) refused to leave the ship. Anderson began to get aggressive and pace up and down the ramp. I approached him and asked him to leave. He then cursed at me, disrespected my nationality, and insulted me for being Trinidadian. I asked Anderson four times to leave the vessel and each time he responded with aggression and cursed at me.”
He further stated,” What happened next is where the issue started. While on the ramp, I informed Anderson that I was the captain of the ship. He responded by cursing at me and throwing water in my face. I tried avoiding further altercation by walking away from him, off the ramp and back onto the main deck. When I got there, I realized a member of Anderson’s clan had assaulted my cruise manager, Benji, by slapping him in his face. My crew tried once again to get the men off the boat, but they continued to refuse with aggression. All men continued to curse at us. Anderson then spat at me and began throwing punches at my face. My crew and I did not start the confrontation, Anderson and his group did. As any team would, we defended ourselves from the ongoing attack.”
Cooper then outlined how Peters ended up in the water.
“The brawl eventually moved to the ramp. With all the scuffling, Anderson lost his balance and fell into the water. No one threw him into the water! It’s upsetting to see reports that my crew and I threw him into the water. We were relieved to see that Anderson was pulled up out of the water and was safe, but even then, he continued to be aggressive towards us and refused to leave the boat. Eventually, the police arrived on the boat, and a mob gathered outside saying that we attacked Grenada’s National Hero.”
“In my profession, I make an ode to protecting all souls on every vessel I captain. I would never intentionally harm another human. I understand Grenada’s love for Anderson Peters but I believe the public should know the truth about the situation,” he added.
2019 World champion Tajay Gayle leaves MVP track club
2019 World Championship long jump gold medallist Tajay Gayle has left the MVP track and field club.
No reason has been given as to why the 2019 RJRGleaner National Sportsman of the year left the club based at the University of Technology in Kingston.
However, the 28-year-old national record holder looks set to start working with St. Elizabeth-based jumps coach Kerry-Lee Ricketts, husband of Shanieka Ricketts.
Ricketts has guided the career of his wife to silver medals at the 2019 and 2022 World Championships as well as silver at this summer's Paris Olympics.
Gayle struggled with knee injuries in the 2021 and 2022 seasons before returning to take bronze at last year’s World Championships in Budapest behind teammate Wayne Pinnock and Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglu.
Olympic bronze medallist Campbell wants more appreciation for athletes in Jamaica
When an athlete makes history for their country in the world’s biggest sporting spectacle, the Olympic Games, the typical reaction from that country is some sort of acknowledgement or celebration of that historic performance.
Unfortunately, this has yet to be the case for Jamaican shot putter Rajindra Campbell.
Campbell became the first Jamaican man to ever medal in a throwing event at an Olympic Games when he threw 22.15m to win bronze in Paris on August 3.
Four days after Campbell’s performance, Roje Stona also made history, throwing a personal best 70.00m for gold in the discus, becoming Jamaica’s first ever Olympic champion in a throwing event.
In the latest episode of SportsMax TV’s Out D Blocks hosted by Leighton Levy and D Major, the 28-year-old national record holder spoke candidly about the lack of acknowledgment and appreciation back home for these historic achievements.
“We have talked about it. The only problem is, as what Omar McLeod mentioned at trials about the 2016 Olympics, we don’t feel the appreciation from Jamaica,” Campbell said, referencing Omar McLeod’s comments after the Olympic trials where he spoke about not feeling appreciated by Jamaica after his Olympic gold medal performance eight years ago.
“You see the kind of celebration Julien Alfred got? I’m not expecting the same here but Jamaica has such a rich history in track and field, I don’t think the athletes are really appreciated for what they do,” he added.
Campbell, born in Ocho Rios, moved to Joplin, Missouri in 2018 to attend Missouri Southern State University where he attended for three years.
He noted that he’s received more of a celebration for his achievement in Joplin than back home in Jamaica.
“I met with the school President on Wednesday of last week and he explained certain things they have in store for me and there is a big sign on campus that people come in and see. It’s a different celebration taking place here compared to Jamaica,” he said.
As Campbell noted, whenever a Jamaican is in an event, Jamaicans expect them to do well. He wonders whether more appreciation would be given to the athletes when they do well if people understood the sacrifices they make on a daily basis.
“The love for Jamaica will never die. We will always continue to represent but, at the same time, the amount of sacrifice it takes to get to the level we are, something that I’ve found is once there is a Jamaican in an event, you’re expected to do well. How do we get there?”
“When you actually get there it’s like ‘Oh! I expected it or I knew you could do it.’ At the same time, there’s a journey that nobody really understands,” he continued.
He added that there has been no communication to him or Stona regarding any sort of celebration or acknowledgement in Jamaica.
Out D Blocks can be seen live every Thursday on the SportsMax TV YouTube channel.
Kim Collins named first-ever track & field ambassador for St. Kitts Athletics to boost global sponsorship
St. Kitts Athletics has proudly named Kim Collins, the 2003 100m world champion, as its first-ever Track and Field Ambassador. This historic appointment celebrates Collins' enduring impact on the sport, as well as his record-breaking career spanning over two decades. Collins, who holds the national record of 9.93 seconds for the 100m, is still the only man over 40 to break the 10-second barrier and also holds the world record for athletes over 35 in the 60m with 6.47 seconds.
Delwayne Delaney, President of St. Kitts Athletics, emphasized the importance of this appointment for the organization and the sport as a whole. “We felt that it was important for us as a body and as an executive, and track and field on a whole, to honour him in such a way, first and foremost, as well as to leverage what he has done for track and field in St. Kitts and Nevis and globally so that we can attain recognition in hopes of attaining sponsorships. We are living in a competitive environment as it relates to sponsorships, and we have to be strategic in our approach," Delaney said.
Collins, who won the bronze medal at the 2001 World Championships and continued to compete at a high level through 2011, is recognized as a household name by major players in the sport.
Delaney added, "We know Kim Collins has made a name for himself time and time again dating back to 2003, even before that in 2001 when he won the bronze medal at the 2001 World Championships, up until 2011 when he was still winning medals at the world championships level. He is known by the major players in the sport, and we want to ensure that we are able to collaborate with Mr. Collins so that it can be beneficial to the sport and the youth who are coming up.”
In his new role, Collins will focus on raising the profile of St. Kitts Athletics through global sponsorship efforts, helping to foster a vibrant track and field community for the next generation.
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