'I've made my mistakes'

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7: I’ve had a lot of positive comments from what I said last week in the Royal Gazette about smoking marijuana.

People are looking into it and debating it and have opened some people’s eyes about it.

Hopefully, this will make our community and our country better.

It’s always been an issue, but now it is definitely a problem in sports.

There has been some negativity.

When I made a comment like that I expect my own life to be examined – everything I’ve done in life.

Some people will make assumptions about my life — it comes with the terrain.

I’ve made mistakes. When I was a teenager, I obviously tried marijuana like a lot of people did.

At that time we were taught when and where to do it. We were taught not to do it in front of other people’s kids.

I’m not a saint — who parties more than me when it’s time to party?

Anybody who is having a better time than me when they’re partying, is definitely going overboard because I’m almost there.

But it ‘s all about respect and when and where you can do things in life.

And if you are going to smoke, then you also have to know that there are consequences in life.

This is not an uncommon problem in Bermuda sports, but are we going to say it’s right because it’s been going on for years?

Or are we as a community going to say it can’t go on any more?

That’s why Bermuda sports aren’t doing better – we aren’t willing to make the kind of sacrifices that it would take.

When we have players who are playing at the highest level and are failing drug tests, and players who are failing drug tests knowing they are going to get drug tested, then it’s not an issue any more, it’s a problem.

Where do we want to go?

I want Bermuda to go to the top. I want to maximize the great talent we have in all sports.

Why are we not at the top of ladder? Because we are not making the right sacrifices.

We have to educate our young people about the decisions they are making. Marijuana in Bermuda has become the normal thing to do among teenagers.

They see their friends doing it, so they do it too.

We need to educate them and how it can ruin their lives?

Who wants to be on the stop list for the rest of their life because they had a little spliff as a teenager?

When you get older you can’t go to Disneyworld with your kids so they can see Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

We need to be educating our young people about this.

They need to know the consequences — if that’s what they choose and they are educated about it, then that’s their choice, but they should be making informed decisions.

Parents have to be pro-active about this.

League title

St David’s lost this weekend and let Bailey’s Bay back into the title race. St David’s have St George’s for the last game of the season and they have to win to take the league title.

It’s all coming down to the last game, which makes it very challenging. The league is going to be pretty close at the top and at the bottom. PHC, Devonshire Rec, Willow Cuts and St George’s are all challenging for survival.

The derby between St George’ and St David’s is already tough enough as it is but with St David’s needing victory for the league and St George’s needing victory to survive, that will make it even tougher.

It should be a very good encounter.

PHC need help in order to survive.

Willow Cuts and Devonshire Rec had their game abandoned so how the executive decides that one will also determine the teams’ fates.

The executive will have a very tough decision as to who gets the points – that will make a very big difference in the tables.