A recent public exchange between five Olympic champions and a Government minister led to this heartfelt plea for dialogue:

Keston Bledman, Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callender, Richard Thompson and Aaron Armstrong do not deserve to be publicly belittled. The unfortunate exchange, two weeks ago, between Minister of Sport and Community Development Shamfa Cudjoe and the Beijing 2008 Olympic 4×100-metre gold medallists over recognition, rewards and roles left a sour taste in the mouth.

Olympic champions are a rare breed in this country. Only Hasely Crawford, Keshorn Walcott and these five men can lay claim to that honour. Bledman, Burns, Callender, Thompson, Armstrong, Crawford and Walcott are national heroes, and should be celebrated at every opportunity by the powers that be.

Instead, there was a back and forth between the minister and our Olympic heroes. Expectedly, this sparked distasteful comments from the public on social media. In the words of the late Winston Henry, the Explainer, “we shouldn’t treat our heroes so”. These men called a press conference to express hurt, deep hurt.

Burns, a loyal T&T track servant for more than three decades, pulled at heartstrings as he explained that there was no formal recognition and acknowledgement from home following last year’s upgrade from Beijing 4×1 silver to gold. The gold had originally been awarded to Jamaica, but then taken away owing to Nesta Carter’s retrospective positive drug test.

The five T&T sprinters were invited to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, where they were presented with their gold medals and lauded by IOC president Thomas Bach for their integrity. They had competed with honour for their entire careers, never bringing the country into disrepute.

Burns and company had been waiting for many months for official feedback on proposals for appropriate rewards for their golden success and participation in programmes that would aid in Trinidad and Tobago’s efforts to achieve more on the global sporting stage.

The five retired sprinters, therefore, saw the press conference as a last resort, their only remaining opportunity to get the attention of the sports minister. That goal was achieved.

The response, however, was not what they were hoping for. The sports minister disclosed a specific figure from the proposal. Taken out of context, without a full understanding of the big picture, there was always the potential for that type of information to create the wrong impression about the five men who were presented with Olympic gold at the IOC headquarters.

It was no surprise, then, when the misinformed took to social media to attack our national heroes, some suggesting that they are money-grabbing opportunists. This could not be further from the truth. These five men are playing their part in giving back to the sport and the country – coaching, advising young athletes, opening doors for scholarships.

Surely, it is in the best interest of T&T to enter into a formal arrangement, ensuring that their knowledge and expertise are fully utilised! For all the talent we have produced over the years, we have a grand total of seven people who have earned Olympic gold.

Five of them have emphatically declared they are ready and willing to serve. One year and one week ago – July 5, 2022–Bledman, Burns, Callender, Thompson and Armstrong had Olympic gold draped around their necks in Lausanne. Last Wednesday was truly a significant anniversary, and should have been a happy time for our Beijing heroes.

It’s not too late, however, to turn things around. Madame minister, please put aside all differences and start over. Invite the Golden Quintet to a meeting, a private discussion about how they propose to contribute to nation building as well as rewards and recognition. Negotiate and collaborate in the interest of T&T athletics and sport in general.