Dear Editor,
Recent happenings have left us all upset and, perhaps, even downcast. But do not ever lose faith in our people. I do not believe that any of our athletes knowingly used a banned substance. While the lack of intent may not be sufficient to exonerate them, it is nonetheless a comforting affirmation of the fairness and integrity that is basic to every Jamaican.
Don't forget what is the basis for Jamaica's success in global athletics. It is not drugs. It is, rather, the fantastic athletic system that we Jamaicans have developed over the past 100 years. Nothing in that system invites or sanctions the use of banned substances. It is a system that produced Norman Manley, Arthur Wint, Herb McKenley, Dennis Johnson, Donald Quarrie, Merlene Ottey, Veronica Campbell Brown, Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and so many others. That system, the hallmark of which is hard work, see boys and girls train for nine months to be ready for Champs. It is fuelled by superb coaching, prodigious natural talent and volunteerism, and has nothing to do with drugs. It does not need drugs. For it has its own private elixir that comes from the spirited drive and struggle for achievement and excellence; that drive and struggle is a part of our heritage.
So let us continue to be proud of the athletics system that we have developed through ingenuity and diligence, acknowledge the features that make it the most successful enterprise in our country and tell the world that drugs are irrelevant to it. Let us continue to support the system and the athletes it produces. Drugs cannot tear down the walls of that system. At the same time we, the Jamaican people, the Government, and the private sector must collaborate to ensure that our athletes and their coaches have at hand the best scientific tools for their use and application to protect their good names and the reputation of the country.
Patrick Robinson
The Hague
Netherlands
Never lose faith in our athletes
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Recent happenings have left us all upset and, perhaps, even downcast. But do not ever lose faith in our people. I do not believe that any of our athletes knowingly used a banned substance. While the lack of intent may not be sufficient to exonerate them, it is nonetheless a comforting affirmation of the fairness and integrity that is basic to every Jamaican.
Don't forget what is the basis for Jamaica's success in global athletics. It is not drugs. It is, rather, the fantastic athletic system that we Jamaicans have developed over the past 100 years. Nothing in that system invites or sanctions the use of banned substances. It is a system that produced Norman Manley, Arthur Wint, Herb McKenley, Dennis Johnson, Donald Quarrie, Merlene Ottey, Veronica Campbell Brown, Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and so many others. That system, the hallmark of which is hard work, see boys and girls train for nine months to be ready for Champs. It is fuelled by superb coaching, prodigious natural talent and volunteerism, and has nothing to do with drugs. It does not need drugs. For it has its own private elixir that comes from the spirited drive and struggle for achievement and excellence; that drive and struggle is a part of our heritage.
So let us continue to be proud of the athletics system that we have developed through ingenuity and diligence, acknowledge the features that make it the most successful enterprise in our country and tell the world that drugs are irrelevant to it. Let us continue to support the system and the athletes it produces. Drugs cannot tear down the walls of that system. At the same time we, the Jamaican people, the Government, and the private sector must collaborate to ensure that our athletes and their coaches have at hand the best scientific tools for their use and application to protect their good names and the reputation of the country.
Patrick Robinson
The Hague
Netherlands
Never lose faith in our athletes
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