Elliott consults attorney
Under- fire chairman of the Jamaica Anti- Doping Commission ( JADCO) Board of Commissioners, Dr Herb Elliott, says he is considering legal action against the Wall Street Journal ( WSJ), following a recent story published online.
In it, the WSJ claims that checks with Columbia University, listed on Elliott’s resumé as where he earned a master’s in chemistry and a medical degree and a Ph. D. in biochemistry from Université Libre de Bruxelles, suggested that he did not obtain credentials from these institutions.
In the article published on November 12, the WSJ claims that “Jennifer Caplan, an official in the registrar’s department at Columbia, said there was no record of anyone with Elliott’s name attaining a master’s in chemistry or working towards a degree in the department. The university’s computer databases, which go back to 1982, and its microfilm records, which date to the 19th century, didn’t show any record of him either.
A spokeswoman for Université Libre de Bruxelles said the university restricts degree information to employers – and only with a job applicant’s permission. But the university maintains a database of all the required written works that students publish for graduation. A review of the database conducted by the WSJ doesn’t include any work listing Elliott as an author. Another database of graduate- science theses that students have written to attain Ph. D. s didn’t contain any work by Elliott.”
A frustrated Elliott, who has been working in the field of medicine and sports medicine for almost four decades, says he is not ruling out taking legal action. “I have contacted my attorney,” he said. “People might think I am a quack.”
Elliott’s resumé says he attended Kingston College, the Philander- Smith College where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Science; Columbia University where he read for his Masters in Chemistry; the Université Libre de Bruxelles where he earned his Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine as well as his Doctor of Philosophy in biochemistry. He obtained a Diploma in Child Health and Masters in Public Health from the University of the West Indies.
Over the years he has been recognised for his contributions to sports and sports medicine. Elliott was a former vice- president of the Jamaica Sports Medicine Association, president of the CACAC Medical Committee, and a member of the NACAC and IAAF Medical Committee. He was awarded the Order of Distinction Commander Class in 1997, the same year he received the IAAF 75th Anniversary Award.
In its story, the WSJ said that Elliott said he was unable to find a number of his certificates that validate the authenticity of his credentials. His late wife Rita, he said, who was instrumental in him pursuing all his credentials, kept his documents and since she passed away a few years ago, he is unable to locate them. “My wife used to look after those things,” he said.
Elliot said he found some documentation yesterday, among them some from Brussels. He said documentation of him pursuing the degree in Brussels was found but he is still unable to locate the final diploma. He said his daughter Stephanie, who is expected to arrive in Jamaica soon, should be able to locate the remaining documentation for him.