Trio’s future is still up in the air
ACTING Sascoc president Barry Hendricks, Tennis South Africa head Gavin Crookes and TSA board member Ntambi Ravele are all in limbo as they await the outcomes of disciplinary processes.
Recently the fate of the trio was decided after the arbitration initiated by the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee handed down its award. Hendricks and Crookes were cleared of wrongdoing, and Ravele’s complaint of a conspiracy was found to be unsubstantiated.
The arbitration process was headed up by Adv Alec Freund SC, who was the unanimous choice of the three parties at the outset.
However, with the arbitration done and dusted, it turns out that TSA and Sascoc have disciplinary processes in place involving the trio.
TSA have appointed a sub-committee to look into the matter of Crookes commenting on the decision of Ravele and TSA vice-president Riad Davids to make themselves available for Sascoc elections.
At a time when TSA had to think about endorsing their nominations, Crookes shared the thoughts of Hendricks on their chances of being elected. According to Hendricks, neither would be successful.
Subsequently, the TSA board rejected Ravele’s nomination for president and supported Davids’ nomination as a board member.
Ravele felt her fellow TSA board members were influenced when Crookes shared Hendricks’ views. Subsequently, she complained to Sascoc and Minister of Sport Nathi Mthethwa.
A TSA sub-committee will decide if Crookes and Ravele need to be disciplined or are free to return to office. Both are presently on voluntary leave of absence from official duties. The subcommittee has not been given a time frame to complete its task.
Davids, who also serves on the International Tennis Federation’s junior committee, has taken over national tennis as acting president.
Hendricks is presently under suspension because of his utterances in the media in April when he said: “It is unfortunately clear that the Sascoc board is still failing in its duties and responsibilities, and in my mind is incapable of self-correcting on its own.”
Sascoc’s big wigs immediately responded with a media release which in part reads: “The Board of Sascoc has noted with disappointment the latest regrettable attacks on its integrity by Mr Barry Hendricks.
“The continuing attack by Mr Hendricks on the current Board is both unprecedented and unwarranted as this is the same Board he was quite happy to lead until his leave of absence.”
The Sascoc board placed Hendricks on leave of absence pending the outcome of an investigation to be conducted by a judicial body. Again no time frame has been stipulated.