All sports have rules governing the administration of their various activities. These include statutes defining ways of solving disputes that may arise before, during and after matches. Teams are expected to follow the laid down procedures should any dispute(s) arise.
Organisers and match officials, on their part, have a duty to follow the laid down procedures and rules of the game to ensure there is fair-play in the competition.
However, taking unorthodox means of solving disputes is not only detrimental to the growth of sports, but is also against the spirit of sportsmanship.
Recently, Eagle Wings, one of the Kenyan representatives to the Africa Zone Five Basketball Championship in Kampala, Uganda, decided to boycott their encounter against Patriotic Army of Rwanda in the last quarter, citing poor officiating.
Whenever cases of poor officiating arise, there are appeals committee to solve the disputes and boycotting the tournament is not the best course of action Eagle Wings could have taken however grave the ‘crimes’ committed against them may have been, considering that they had spent lot of money to take part at the event.
Such a decision was misadvised and may be costly to the team. Now, the team is likely to face a ban besides other penalties should they be found guilty of contravening Fiba rules.
Fiba, too, should ensure the matter is looked into fairly and objectively to avoid recurrence of such incidents in championships of such a magnitude. It was unfair for the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) representative to remain indifferent as things were getting out of hand in Kampala. KBF should be ready to assist local teams while on duty locally or abroad.