Brantley says Nevisians don’t know about football…Nevisians offended
(ZIZ)– Politicians, political commentators, and the general public in Nevis are saddened by The Hon Mark Brantley’s statement that Nevisians do not know anything about football.
On Thursday, Nevisians vented their anger towards Brantley during Choice Radio’s “The Breakfast Menu”.
One caller, who identified herself as Stoney Grove resident Idella Newton said she was personally offended by the statement because her sons are well known football players.
“I’m here and I have tears in my eyes to know my son, Dapa, Sheldon “Dapa” Newton made the team in St. Kitts, the captain, Slybo, MVP…I feel so sad and I had to call in this morning because I feel that he calling down me children dem and me children dem put out their best and they play football for Nevis [and] they ain’t get nothing. Me son get a scholarship. Ah ask dem for it and they no help me and the scholarship vanished and me son come back here and almost went mad how he get treatment from up here. Lord man, this is sad,” she said.
Another Nevisian sought to defend the island’s female football players who have shown deep interest in the sport and are representing the country on a regional level.
“This handsome gentleman that’s walking around up here, the CCM member for constituency of St. John’s, he not only does not know the history of his island but he does not know the history of his portfolio for Minister of Sports because the four young ladies that you spoke about, two of them are from over Bath namely Kazel Parry, and one from Brown Hill Kerisha Powell and another one from Gingerland, Liburd. Four of them are in Turks and Caicos right now,” the caller said.
“How come the Minister of Sports doesn’t know that? They have gone to represent our little island. As the Minister of Sports, he should know that and they should be returning tomorrow and they are doing pretty well and those young ladies are very, very good footballers to make it to Turks And Caicos so the Minister of Sports needs to see what is going on not only in his island but in tourism and in sports,” the caller continued.
Brantley, who is the Senior Minister Responsible for Sports in the Nevis Island Administration, continues to be heavily criticised for the address he delivered at Sunday’s 49th Annual Convention of the People’s Action Movement [PAM].