THA assemblyman questions firing of netball coach, manager

Assistant Secretary of Sport Wane Clarke, centre, leads a protest in Scarborough on Friday. Photo by David Reid
Assistant Secretary of Sport Wane Clarke, centre, leads a protest in Scarborough on Friday. Photo by David Reid

Tobago House of Assembly (THA) assistant secretary for community development, youth development and sport Wane Clarke led a protest in Tobago on Friday questioning the November firing of senior netball coach Kemba Duncan and manager Ashelle Legall; both Tobagonians.

The pair was dismissed on November 21 via a virtual meeting with TT Netball Association (TTNA) president Sherry Ann Blackburn and vice-president Lisa Stanisclaus.

On Thursday, the association issued its first statement on the matter and cited several reasons for their decision to remove the duo, mainly a culmination of “progressively poor relations” between the TTNA and the former national team officials.

At the junction of Milford Road and Wilson Road in Scarborough, Clarke was joined by several citizens with placards, questioning their removal.

“We are standing here in support of our two fellow Tobagonians who have been fired from the national netball team after we qualified for that historic World Cup. We want the answers as to why did this happen?

“Did the team have an emergency fund? Did the coach and manager have a chance to be heard? We know some people saying this looked like a lynching. Who wrote the report that they used to fire the coach and the manager?”

He hopes their protest gets the attention of “national authorities.”

“We need answers and we are asking to treat us fair, that’s all we want. Just give us an explanation because we need the answers.

“We are servants of the people and in doing so there are times we have to stand up for them and sometimes, with them. We want some answers as to why these people have been treated this way,” Clarke said.

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