Bravo’s tweet removed; apology issued
There seems to be a mending of the fences between ace Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies batsman Darren Bravo and president of Cricket West Indies (CWI) Dave Cameron, over a controversial post on Bravo’s Twitter page against the CWI head.
In November, Bravo was sent home ahead of a One Day International tri-series, involving hosts Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, following a tweet on his account which referred to Cameron as a “big idiot”.
And Bravo’s post was a response to Cameron who, on an edition of the Sportsmax Zone, said that the 28-year-old had been offered a Grade C contract due to his inconsistent returns with the bat.
The CWI immediately quashed Bravo’s contract and virtually sidelined him from First-Class cricket under their auspices, while Bravo initiated legal action against the CWI, claiming damages over lost of earnings allegedly in the region of US$120,000.
During Wednesday’s edition of the Sportsmax Zone, however, Bravo’s attorney Leslie Haynes confirmed that the tweet was removed and a subsequent apology was issued by Bravo, while Cameron is expected to issue a media release today in which he will atone for his ill-advised comment.
Haynes, a Queen’s Counsel, declined to reveal Bravo’s statement to Cameron, stating, “I spoke to the CEO of Cricket West Indies (Johnny Grave) who is responsible for issuing this statement. He said that this statement will be issued first thing (this) morning and I promised him not to read from the statement, to breach protocol.
“But what I can (say) is that Darren has apologised to the president for his inappropriate response, he’s apologised to all Windies cricket fans and, in retrospect, he says the statement was inappropriate.”
The Queen’s Counsel added, “We have made Darren’s return to cricket a priority, and (CWI) has agreed to that. While there are other issues to be dealt with, we hope to deal with them in an amicable manner.”
Asked about the factor/factors behind Bravo’s latest move, Haynes replied, “At the end of the day, common sense on all sides prevailed.”
Admitting that the CWI produced a statement yesterday over the matter, Haynes related, “Essentially (Cameron) says he made an incorrect statement for which he apologises, and Darren apologises as well. Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
Haynes noted that discussions took place with a number of persons over the eight-month-long saga, including president of the Caribbean Court of Justice Sir Dennis Byron; former CWI (then West Indies Cricket Board) president Ken Gordon; Deryck Murray, ex-TT Cricket Board (TTCB) president and WI wicketkeeper; and current TTCB head Azim Bassarath.
“At the end of the day, the tweet has expended its time and we were quite willing to accept (Cameron’s) statement and the president, having agreed to same, we agreed as well to take down the tweet and shake hands,” the Queen’s Counsel said.
In a recent interview on Sportsmax’s Line and Length programme, Bravo argued that the CWI were yet to prove that the tweet was posted by the batsman himself. Asked to confirm if the tweet was Bravo’s doing, Haynes responded, “I don’t know.” But he does not foresee any addition punishment from CWI towards Bravo.
“How often are you going to punish someone? He was punished by being sent home, he was punished for not being eligible for selection for 242 days.
“From a legal point of view, I can say that you cannot punish someone more than once.” The lawyer ended, “there is mutual respect between the parties. Both understand each other (and) the roles that each of them play.” (Trinidad and Tobago NewsDay)