The Jamaica team’s Technical Director at the ongoing IAAF World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Maurice Wilson, is indicating that he intends to take legal action against sprinter, Tyquendo Tracey, for statements he deemed “libelous and defamatory” in relation to his non-selection to Jamaica’s 4x100m relay team at the Championships.
Tracey caused a stir on social media on Thursday when he uploaded a 15-minute video on YouTube accusing Wilson of “bias” and “favoritism” after it was found that Kadrian Goldson, a sprinter who attends the GC Foster College where Wilson is principal, was on the team and selected to compete in the heats of the 4x100m relay despite not qualifying for the team through the National Championships.
At those championships, Tracey was fifth in the men’s 100m final while Goldson was seventh. The usual protocol is that the top six finishers from the championships make up the relay pool.
In the video, the sprinter also claimed that Wilson has had a pattern of doing this while also calling him "a very evil and vindictive person."
According to Tracey, after he raised the issue with reporters in Budapest, he was contacted by Security Liaison Officer Steve McGregor and told his accreditation to the championships would be withdrawn and he would be asked to leave the team village.
“The utterances were libelous and defamatory,” Wilson said of Tracey’s allegations on Thursday night.
“My family is coming under attack on social media. The posts are out there. There is no way I will not have to seek redress in reference to my reputation. Track and field is a part of what I do. I’m also involved with youngsters that I mentor and try to assist so there is no way that I can allow this to just be a passing fire,” said Wilson, who is also head coach at the GC Foster College-based Sprintec Track Club.
“I’ve seen these things happen before. Tyquendo Tracey has been disrespectful before to management. He has made allegations on social media before about his former coach Stephen Francis so this is his modus operandi. It is very difficult for me not to seek some form of redress. This has to do with my reputation.”