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| Apr 6, 2023

Misunderstanding – Grace didn’t say it would withdraw Champs sponsorship

Al Edwards

Al Edwards / Our Today

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Action in the preliminary round of girls class 1 200-metre dash during day four of the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls Championships at the National Stadium on Friday, March 31, 2023. (Photo: Facebook @issajamaica)

There has been one hell of a firestorm over GraceKennedy’s sponsorship of Champs in light of athletes celebrating victories with gun salutes and other gestures.

GraceKennedy is facing opprobrium, but it must be borne in mind that it is an international conglomerate and it does not want its products and services associated with violence and murder.

It is a wholesome brand.

The gestures are more endemic of the culture and what is deemed “cool” by school children today in Jamaica.

This is not what Grace wants to be associated with or have any part of and the company made that clear.

At no time did it definitively declare it was withdrawing its sponsorship if the gun signs or outbursts of violence were to continue.

GraceKennedy Group CEO Don Wehby.

The statement over the signature of Group CEO Don Wehby read: “ GraceKennedy has noted images and videos circulating in traditional media and online, depicting a young male athlete making a violent hand gesture upon winning a race at the 2023 Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Championships currently being held at the National Stadium.

“We have engaged ISSA regarding the applicable policies governing such actions, and what steps are being taken to address the incident and prevent a recurrence.

“GraceKennedy takes the opportunity to publicly state that we reject all forms of violence and any gestures which might instigate violent acts, at Champs or otherwise.

“We also take the opportunity to remind all Champs participants, spectators and supporters to let true sportsmanship and good camaraderie be the order of the day.”

Hydel celebrates winning Girls’ Champs.

This statement was pretty clear cut.

One gets the impression that Grace wants to distance itself from the nexus of violence and “badman” culture and indiscipline and doesn’t want to see school children wilfully engaging in such gestures.

This year, Grace’s sponsorship of Champs came to a total of J$170 million with J$80 million of that being in cash. That is a significant figure, not to mention that Grace has been title sponsors for the last 16 years.

It must be expected that it would not want any negativity connected to it. At Champs it would want to promote the very best of sportsmanship and promote hard work, fair play and achievement, essential prescriptions if Jamaica is to prosper and citizens to flourish.

Don Wehby went on to say that the violence and indiscipline bedevilling the country is more of a societal issue and measures must be taken to address it.

He’s right.

ISSA WILL HAVE TO GET ITS ACT TOGETHER

School kids cannot take rivalry to the level of violence exhibited for the public to see either in the stadium or on their TVs at home. Grace cannot be seen to have any part of that.

ISSA will have to get its act together and the respective schools must do a better job of ensuring there is no element of violence in celebratory poses.

It is no excuse either to dismiss it as simply culture, “that’s how we do it”.

That’s indicative of a country on the wrong path where violence, pain and death are inculcated in the youth.

Teammates from Kingston College’s Class 1 4×100 team celebrate after winning gold at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ & Girls’ Athletics Championships at the National Stadium on April 1, 2023. (Photo: Facebook @issajamaica)

What well-meaning company would want to be connected to that?

Grace didn’t say it would be withdrawing its sponsorship but what it saw this year gives it a reason to reconsider what has prevailed for the better part of two decades.

Company executives have stressed there are no immediate plans to pull its sponsorship of Champs, but instead made note of disturbing activities that must now cease.

Rather than support Grace on this, many have chosen to condemn the company and see its position on this matter  as some kind of veiled threat.

There is a problem with conflict resolution in this country and the sooner we all can coach our school children how to handle this, the better Jamaica will be as a whole.

Grace is doing its part, how about you?

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