Stanford - the man from Texas, Montserrat, Antigua

Tony Becca FROM THE BOUNDARY

I have always been one who believes that regardless of the charge against him, regardless of how guilty he appears, a man is innocent until proven guilty, and that goes for every one - including Allen Stanford.

Sometimes, however, things appear so bad that the charge appears guilty even before he is tried, and this seems to be the case with Stanford.

According to reports, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States of America has charged the billionaire from Texas, who once resided in Montserrat before moving to Antigua, with fraud. In fact, based on the words of those doing the investigations, it is a fraud of no mean order.

In the words of the SEC's Rose Romero, it is a fraud of "shocking magnitude" by the man who, in offering incentives such as US$10,000 for a catch and one million US dollars to the winning team in his Stanford 20/20 regional tournament and a million US dollars to each member of the winning team in his much-celebrated Stanford Twenty20 for 20, spent millions of US dollars on cricket in two years.

Am I sorry for Stanford - the man who, according to CNN, is also being investigated for his connections with a Mexican drug cartel?

As one who cannot understand why a man who has so much still wants more regardless, even though he spent so much money on cricket, I cannot say that I am sorry for Stanford and, more importantly, I am certainly not sorry for those who are now wringing their hands, for those who are now saying they did not know, for those who welcomed him with open arms - to the point where they not only grabbed his money but where they also criticised those who did not bow before him while serenading him.

godsend

To them, to the West Indians, including players, spectators, and some administrators Stanford was a godsend to West Indies cricket, and especially so, with the exception of one like Michael Holding, to his 'Legends' - the former great players who formed his board and whom he not only paid, but also feted and treated, deservedly so by the way, like the champions they were.

Although there is a saying that money is the root of all evil, in reality, money is important to almost everything in life, and there is no question that money is important to West Indies cricket.

Money, however, is not every thing.

Money cannot be and should not be every thing, and although they did not know that Stanford's money was tainted, those who rolled out the red carpet for Stanford, and in the process criticised the board for not doing what Stanford did even though it did not have the money that Stanford had - those who cheered Stanford every day he announced more money for something else - those who said he was the saviour for West Indies cricket - those who said that this American, who knew nothing about cricket, who said that Test cricket is boring, and that he was only interested in the entertainment side of the game, should have been the president of the West Indies must now be embarrassed.

Why should they be embarrassed? Unless money, regardless of where it came from or who it came from, was their only concern, they should be embarrassed for the simple reason that there was enough talk going the rounds for them to listen and then for them to act.

Antigua is a small country, every one, it seems, knows every one else and every one's business I have been to Antigua many, many times and from I heard about Stanford, I did not like what I heard about him.

modern-day colonialist

Apart from hearing that he had been investigated a few times by the American government, I heard that he had to leave Montserrat, I heard that the then Opposition party was opposed to many things about him, I heard that he had the then government eating out of his hand, I heard that the then Opposition leader had referred to Stanford as a "modern-day colonialist", I heard that the then Opposition now Govern-ment had said that when it came to power, it would cut him down.

Apart from hearing all those things, apart from the fact that he always wanted everything to go his way - to dictate how everything went, apart from reading that he landed at Lord's in his jet and then opened a briefcase filled with 20 million US dollars, I saw, in Antigua, how he acted. How he reacted to the people like he was their master, apart from the fact that at his Twenty20 matches he never moved without the camera, how he strutted about like he owned the country, and the manner in which he spoke to his 'Legends'.

May be I was seeing what was not there, but in my opinion, whenever I heard him speaking to the 'Legends', Stanford spoke to the heroes of the people of the West Indies, to most of them, like they owed him something.

I knew many people in Antigua, cricket people at that, people from all walks of the society, some of them my friends, people I trusted, who never once went to any of Stanford's Twenty20 matches for the simple reason that they wanted nothing to do with him.

Those were some of the reasons why I did not trust Allen Stanford, why, as a cricket fan, I was not keen on accepting his money, and why I always believed that spending his money, so much money, had nothing to do with his love for cricket and for the Caribbean, but rather a bid to buy a place in the society.

good for wi cricket

To me, there are some things which money cannot buy; some things which money should not be able to buy, and with it being so dear to the people, West Indies cricket is one of them.

Was Stanford good for West Indies cricket? Yes, and definitely so in one way.

Apart from the money offered to the players, apart from the annual licence fee he paid to the West Indies Board for playing his tournament, and apart from the lovely buildings on the outskirts of the city - the jewel of St John's which includes a cricket field, a magnificent monument to the great players in West Indies cricket, the luxurious Sticky Wicket restaurant and the impressive edifice which houses his bank, his Twenty20 tournament was good in that it attracted vast crowds and had the potential of winning more support for the game.

Can West Indies cricket survive without Stanford and his chest full of dollars? Yes, it can, definitely so, and especially if the administrators have learnt the lesson.

West Indies cricket has been around for more than a hundred years; cricket is the sport of the region, despite what some may say, and in spite of the poor attendance at matches, cricket is still the sport nearest to the hearts of the people - the majority of the people.

soul of the people

Cricket is the soul of the people, regardless of the price, the people are not willing to sell it, and although they are criticised every day for one thing or the other, and justifiably so, although they are short of sponsorship, although money is important to run the sport, money is not every thing.

When it comes to money, what is important to the people is where it comes from, and the administrators of West Indies cricket had better understand that.

The only thing more important than that is the performance of the West Indies team and, once again, the administrators had better understand that.

On Saturday, February 7, the West Indies surprisingly routed England for 51 in the second innings of the first Test of the current Digicel series, to take a 1-0, the people were happy, and the region celebrated.

After the abandoned second Test, the West Indies, who were outplayed throughout the match, fought gallantly on Thursday's final day to save the third Test. In doing so they maintained their 1-0 lead, again the people were happy, and again they celebrated.

Every time I think of Stanford and his chest full of money, I remember the Greeks and their gifts.