C&W: Teddy Griffith Saw Player Contract

Sat, Mar 5, '05

Cable & Wireless on Saturday challenged the accuracy of Teddy Griffith's claim that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has never seen the contents of the private endorsement contracts between C&W and seven players.

"[W]ell before the Board had entered into its agreement with our competitor, Cable & Wireless sent to Mr. Griffith himself, at his request, a player contract excluding personal and financial details. This was out of deference to his position and the long standing relationship Cable & Wireless had with the Board," the company said in a statement sent to CaribbeanCricket.com.

The telephone company said the WICB president had requested to the player "to ensure that in his negotiations with the impending team sponsor there would be no conflict with the players? obligations to C&W."

In the statement, C&W insisted there was nothing in the individual agreements of the players that would cause any conflict with the obligations that these players would be required to fulfill under the terms of any contract entered into by the board.

"We are very surprised that Mr. Griffith has claimed that Cable & Wireless refused to share the non-financial provisions of the individual contracts, when we did just that in January 2005. At that time, a copy of an entire contract without the financials and the players? specific name was submitted to the CARICOM Sub-Committee on Cricket, chaired by Prime Minister Mitchell of Grenada," the company said.

Grenada prime minister Dr Keith Mitchell, who serves as chairman of the Caricom sub-committee, has already confirmed receipt of a player contract for perusal.

The company said that it was on Griffith's public broadcast that it first heard of the WICB request for such specific documents. "However, as the WICB is fully aware, these are private personal endorsements contracts which we cannot legally share without the consent of the other party to the contract."