Springer: Caribbean sports bodies still operating ‘amateurishly’

by Michael Bascombe

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, Oct. 31, 2026 - Many Caribbean sporting bodies have failed to keep pace with professional sport and still place administrative control ahead of athletes, veteran sports journalist, broadcaster, and administrator Vernon Springer has said.

Speaking on Saturday’s TalkSports programme, Springer argued that global sport has become a billion-dollar business, while some regional associations still operate without professional systems or an athlete-centred approach.

“Although the sport has evolved into being a billion-dollar industry, they’re still operating amateurishly,” he said. “Some of the associations think that they’re bigger than the athletes.”

Springer cited the treatment of former world 100m champion Kim Collins at the London 2012 Olympics as a case that still raises questions about transparency and due process. Collins was entered in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay but did not compete.

At the time, the St Kitts and Nevis Olympic Committee said Collins had breached his participation agreement by missing meetings and training sessions and failing to keep officials informed of his whereabouts. The committee said it withdrew his Olympic Village accreditation after he did not return when instructed.

Collins offered a different account, saying he had stayed with his wife and found himself locked out of the village. He later said he remained unclear about why he had been excluded.

Springer maintained that Collins was never taken before a disciplinary committee and that the episode showed how poorly some organisations managed professional athletes.

“Nobody can tell the world why Kim Collins did not run in the London Olympics,” he said.

Collins won Commonwealth 100m gold in 2002 and the world title in 2003. Springer said his Adidas contract and access to a doctor, masseur, and agent gave him a professional structure that his national association did not possess.

“Kim was almost like a walking businessman, outside of being an ambassador,” Springer said.

He argued that some administrators struggled to accept agents and other specialists acting on behalf of athletes, even as Caribbean competitors became successful on the global circuit.

“While we have done well across the region in sports, most of our administrators have not been able to come up to the mark in terms of what professional sport would mean in the Caribbean,” Springer said.