In the news last night I heard that the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association (JAAA) has stated that the five athletes who tested positive for banned substances would still retain their places in the World Championship squad. In their defence they stated that if they are found to be innocent after the JADCO hearing, then it would look bad to have taken them out of the squad. That argument for me carries no water. These athletes are aware of all the illegal substances that should not be taken, whether it is a mild drug or not. What if all of them are proven to be guilty of an offence, then what does the JAAA do, bearing in mind that the deadline for entries to the World Championship ended yesterday.

The next problem is the slow pace at which the Jamaica Anti-Coping Commission (JADCO) has been operating. Yesterday should have been the official hearing, but like Friday it was postponed again because they were protests by the athletes and their lawyers regarding some of the panel members. While I have been praising JADCO for their unbiased appproach to date, this situation is not only lame, but shows the poor state of our administrators. Who is really in charge?

JADCO has also failed to officially name the banned substance or even the athletes involved. The blame does not end there, the IAAF has not done so either, so we really don't know which drug was used. So how is it then that the JAAA are so confident that these athletes will be found innocent and be able to compete at the WC. Even a blind man can see that this matter will not be settled before August 15, which is the start date of the WC. We still do not know if all the athletes have requested the 'B' sample testing, which will be another matter all together.

What is clear to me is the level of incompetence demonstrated by this so called high profile panel. After almost 2 weeks, no one really know what is happening, and the world looking on must be saying to themselves, "do these guys have a clue as to what they are doing".......