Caring for our heroes

I read this interview and recalled a bit of advice one of my print journalism lecturers offered our class after reviewing some of our assignments more than a decade ago. “In formulating and asking your questions as an interviewer be weary that there is a difference,” said she, “between being a devil’s advocate and an advocate of less complimentary stock”.

Let your good judgment, dear reader, determine what “less complimentary stock” was later explained to be.

Three questions in particular caught my attention in Michelle McDonald’s typically marathon interview with West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo:

Another perception people have is that you are all greedy and that all of this dispute is coming from sheer greed. Don’t you think it would make a statement if all the players who are contracted to the IPL decide not to go?

Wanting more money. Wanting more, why you always want more? Why you can’t just play the game for the love of the game?

Why you all so concerned about money?

I suspect that one might have to forgive Ms McDonald in this instance as she may have felt that she was being a devil’s advocate for some who she may have (over)heard uttering such sentiments. Or perhaps it is my zealous ‘players orientation’ which could be surfacing.

How can even unthinking people seriously begrudge the likes of Bravo or any other West Indian player (or any cricketer or sportsman for that matter) who is attempting to maximise his earnings during what will be a relatively short career?

The average age of retirement in the Caribbean is between 55 and 60. With one being considered a legitimate member of the workforce upon reaching adulthood it means that the average West Indian adult has 37 to 42 years of work and solid earning up his or her sleeves. The greatest West Indian cricketer of the past two decades – Brian Lara – retired two years ago after 16 years at the international level. The average ‘decent’ West Indian player will last about 10 years on the world stage, so why must they not be, at the very least, fairly compensated during this period in view of the fact that – surprise, surprise – there is life, and increasing expenses, after cricket?

The heartbreaking story of Winston Davis, the former West Indies all rounder immediately hurtles to mind. In 1998 after a fall from a tree in his native St Vincent he became paralyzed from the neck down. He now lives in England. It is not a life in London. One of our greatest players died before old age and did not leave much for his family simply because there was not much to have left. Times continue to be difficult for his surviving family members who depend on contributions and virtual handouts. That is unacceptable.

People are oblivious to the financial trials and tribulations of so many of our former great players. Too many of our very greatest players have been left to uncomfortable and demeaning survivals as a result of not having been adequately compensated during their playing days. Admittedly there are a few, very few though, who squandered whatever little they earned.

I do not wish to mention names here to cast further embarrassment on those who do not deserve it save to say that I find it regrettable that some of these same financially unstable former players castigate the current players for demanding a fair financial deal when they are the ones who are most acutely aware of what failure to so do can lead to.

What the current players are doing is learning from the mistakes of a past generation of players, they do not want to end up in the same situation which their and our heroes have had to endure. I personally found it offensive, most disheartening and bewildering when a few years ago, because of an inability to meet his medical bills, a hat collection had to have been done at a cricket match for a former great player. That should never, ever be. It must never come to that.

International players from other countries seem to never be treated as callously as so many of our heroes have been. We, even if it must be bludgeoned into us, must develop a culture of taking care of our own as, encouragingly, both the West Indies Cricket Board and the West Indies Players Association recently agreed must be the case. Ewen Chatfield may be driving a taxi in Wellington but he is not wasting away in some apartment or dilapidated chattel house waiting for the creator’s call while only shame and menial sporadic remittances from offsprings or siblings prevent him from ending it all. Too many of our former greats are languishing in depression caused by financial impotence. And worse, it is the proverbial 800 lbs gorilla in the room that the happy go lucky regional media prefer to ignore than engage and address.

It must be brought to an end, not by the WICB or WIPA or any other organization but by a cultural and social shift in thinking on how we treat our senior citizens and heroes. They must be taken care of now as reparation for previous failures. Monuments to celebrate their triumphs and achievements are necessary, a decent and respectable life post-retirement is an obligation.

And this current crop of players, especially the First Class players, must be, not merely ‘very well’ but ‘excellently’ compensated during their 10 or so years at the top and regional levels, so that life after cricket is not characterized by them playing charity matches and fetching begging bowls to put bread on the table.