Shanikie Osbourne, the coach at the centre of the dispute with Olympic champion Elaine Thompson Herah's management, strongly refuted statements made by the management regarding her compensation for preparing Thompson Herah for the Olympics in Paris. In a detailed account, Osbourne denied asking for unreasonable levels of compensation and emphasized that she was open to negotiation.
Osbourne was hired in July following Thompson-Herah’s poor performance at the Jamaica national championships where she finished fifth in the 100m finals in 11.06s. The coach’s impact was almost immediate with the five-time Olympic gold medalist producing five consecutive season-bests – 11.00, 10.92, 10.84 and 10.79 for a third-place finish in the season-ending Diamond League final in Eugene, Oregon.
Things seemed to be going well up late September or early October when negotiations began for a new longer-term arrangement between Thompson-Herah and the coach, who helped her resurrect her 2023 season.
However, on Wednesday, Thompson-Herah’s agents Andi Sports Management released a statement informing about the end of the relationship between the athlete and Coach Osbourne.
“The professional separation came about due to a breakdown in negotiations on a compensation package for the services that would be provided by Coach Osbourne,” the agent asserted in the statement. “The package proposed by the former coach, by any measure of what is the norm for such services, was extremely excessive and without any flexibility to negotiate by the other party. Collectively, we had no choice but to seek the services of another coach.”
“What Marvin (Andi Sports Management) put out saying we gave them no room to negotiate is a big lie!” said Osbourne, who spoke with Sportsmax.TV.
Osbourne revealed that the problem started when Thompson-Herah’s husband sent her what she described as a ‘garbage contract’, which she rejected. Elaine then reached out to her in a series of messages and voice notes after which they agreed to sit down for a meeting.
"At the end of her message for a meeting, I said to her, I've read her messages and asked her what time would be available for the meeting, and so I'll meet with her." During the meeting, Osbourne brought up the 15 per cent, and Thompson-Herah did not express an inability to afford it.
“I approached her with the same 15 per cent. She did not say she cannot afford the 15 per cent. She said to me, ‘Okay, since I have all my equipment, I have a gym, I have my equipment and everything, do I still have to say for the 15 percent?’”
“I remember her standing up and she said to me, ‘Okay, you said 15 per cent and that's it.’ And I said yes, that's it and she said ‘okay’ and the meeting finished.
Osbourne said she came away from the meeting with the understanding that Thompson-Herah was agreeing with what she was asking. However, just over a week later, the athlete’s husband Derron Herah contacted her.
“I thought everything was okay, Deron messaged me saying we need to sort this out,’ which she said left her perplexed. “I asked him what we needed to sort out and he said we need to sort out payment.
“He asked for a meeting and we met and he came with the same sort of foolishness and I maintained my 15 per cent. I am not charging more than that.”
During the meeting, Deron Herah repeatedly asked her to provide a figure. "All he's saying to me right is give me a figure. Give me a figure that I’m comfortable with. He can’t make those kinds of contracts with a percentage on it because that will cause them to breach their contract with PUMA.”
She expressed frustration, stating that she didn't need to know the details of Elaine’s contract, only that a fair and honest calculation of her percentage be made.
“I am just asking for a percentage. I explained to them, I do not need to know Elaine’s contract, that is not my concern. What I want is when pay time comes and I go in my account I must see that I get paid. I am not going to sit down and calculate anything.
“All I said to him and I said it to Elaine too, is just be fair, calculate the percentage and pay me, that’s all.”
During the national championships in July, it was an acquaintance of the Herahs, Damia Russell, who approached Osbourne about coaching Elaine as he was disappointed with her performance at the national championships. Given the impasse, he attempted to mediate.
Russell, is an assistant track and field coach at the University of New Mexico Highlands and was once a compliance officer at MVP Track Club during 2017-2018 season and for seven years’ prior, was the manager of the University of Technology Men and Women Track and Field teams.
“He normally guides Elaine, he went and spoke to the husband and then he took me to him,” Osbourne said explaining that she decided to leave the negotiations to him to see if they could arrive be a mutually acceptable agreement.
Russell, Osbourne disclosed, said he would assist and even suggested that since the Herahs were fearful of breaching the terms of Elaine’s contract, they could simply have Osbourne sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement.
Russell declined to comment without first speaking to Osbourne when Sportsmax.TV reached out to him on Thursday.
According to Osbourne, Russell spoke with Deron and listened to his concerns and then decided to send Elaine’s husband a figure. “He said to me, what he is going to do is do a calculation of what he believes he would negotiate for Elaine. He did that and sent the figure to him and Deron started to curse and said they were trying to extort him.”
She said she didn’t expect Herah’s reaction. “You ask for a figure and you get a figure, you negotiate, you don’t cuss and quarrel and talk about extortion. So you come and we say ‘X’ and you can’t pay ‘X’ then you pay ‘X’-1, that’s how it should go.”
The coach then discussed her decision to withdraw her services temporarily, stating, "I sent a message to Elaine and said,’ Listen, I have to withdraw my service until this is sorted out."
As it turns out, the athlete and her management decided to end the relationship.
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
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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