Tony Becca, Contributing Editor
JAMAICA HAS produced many great sportsmen and sportswomen and, even though there are those who, when their days in the sun are over and sometimes even before, complain that their efforts, their greatness, their contribution to the country have never been properly and fully appreciated, they have been rewarded in one form or another.
Looking at what has been done over the years for many of Jamaica's greats - the financial support during their early days, the applause during their moments of triumph, the national honours awarded and the financial support for a number of them at the end of the day, Jamaica, in fact, has done a lot for their outstanding sportsmen and sportswomen - so much so that neither they nor their mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, aunt and uncles, nieces and nephews should complain.
There is one, however, who, despite what she has got, in spite of the help she received as a young athlete dreaming of greatness and the national honours bestowed on her, deserves more and should get more.
MERLENE OTTEY
That one is Merlene Ottey - the 100 and 200 metres runner who, at the peak of her career, was dubbed the Queen of Jamaica, and who, even though she never won an Olympic gold medal and despite Deon Hemmings' gold medal in the hurdles at the 1996 Olympic Games and Juliet Cuthbert's silver medals in the Olympic Games of 1992, is rated not only as Jamaica's greatest female athlete ever, but also as one of the best ever in the whole wide world.
In fact, when it comes to versatility and longevity, some rate her the greatest of all time.
In an illustrious career, Ottey won 22 medals at the Olympic Games and the World Champion-ships for Jamaica, that count includes two individual silver medals at the Olympics and gold and silver medals at the World Championships, and Jamaica and Jamaicans should never forget that - just as they never will forget some of her great performances, including that memorable run when, after a hotly disputed photo-finish second to Gail Devers in the 100 metres at the 1993 World Championships, she returned to stamp her class with victory in the 200 metres.
The reason for this reminder of Ottey's greatness and what is due to her is that in its wisdom, in its wish to leave a lasting monument to her, and in a bid to set her up as a great Jamaican, to use the talented Jamaican as a perfect example of what can be achieved through dedication, commitment and perseverance, the government of this country decided a few years ago to build a statue of her and commissioned the statue to be built.
Although the statue was built some time ago, however, it has not yet been erected, and the question is why.
Remembering that there are Jamaicans, including those who cheered her during her moments of triumph, who have branded Ottey as an ungrateful woman following reports that she had said, more than once during her glory days, that Jamaica had never done anything for her, and remembering that her decision to reside in Slovenia took place after the statue was commissioned and that there are Jamaicans who were and are still angry with her for it, is it that she is being penalised for being ungrateful and for taking up residence in a foreign country and thus turning her back on her homeland?
Remembering also that, like her decision to reside abroad, it took place after the statue was commissioned, does it have anything to do with the fact that she was accused of using drugs?
If that is so, then it is wrong - and it is wrong for many reasons.
GREAT SPORTSMEN AND SPORTSWOMEN
One reason is that even if she was ungrateful and is still ungrateful, an eye for eye is not right - certainly not in a Christian society; another is that, like the thousands upon thousands of Jamaicans living abroad - including professionals who could contribute to the development of this country, she has a right to chose where she wants to live; and still another is that she was found not guilty of using drugs.
Jamaica has produced some great sportsmen and sportswomen, apart from the statute at the new indoor centre commemorating women in sport, some, like George Headley, Herb McKenley, Arthur Wint, George Rhoden and Les Laing - through the Olympic statue at the National Stadium, and Don Quarrie have been immortalised in bronze, and so too should the queen of Jamaica's sport.
Ottey's performances were such that nothing can erase them, they will always be remembered, and whether she chooses to live at home or not, after deciding to erect a statue of her, the government should look for it, dust it off, and as planned, erect it at Independence Park.
