Chris Martin - Colin Hamilton photo

THE EDITOR, Sir:

The October 6, WEEKEND STAR's lead story was dis-appointing. OK, Christopher Martin fumbled badly in his rendition of the anthem and it must have been extremely embarrassing for the spectators and JFF officials, but I can bet what I don't have that the person who feels the greatest embarrassment and regret about the incident is Martin himself. He must feel terrible. So why punish him further, and rub salt in his wound by blazing his name on your front page with the suggestion that perhaps he might have 'dissed' Jamaica? That's not fair.

And what does the JFF press officer mean when he says Christopher "made a mockery of the anthem"? Did he pull off his shirt and dance and prance or grab his crotch or "buss di dutty wine" while he sang it? He made a mistake! And, based on his account of the incident, the JFF should take some of the blame. The story said Chris did a fine job with the first verse and was about to end it there, but the press officer pressed him to continue. That is partly why it flopped! The JFF did not give enough guidelines before the actual performance. They took things for granted, and did not verify whether the singer knew the words. The JFF officer disrupted a singer in the middle of a performance to give instruction, and threw off the young man.

Now the same JFF personnel want to make the entire musical fraternity and by extension the entire country pay for the unfortunate mistake made by a promising young singer. He has vowed not to use any more live rendition of the anthem at official matches. Nonsense! Suppose the entire musical fraternity and all their fans decide to boycott matches because the team performs dismally? Where would the JFF be? Jamaica has many exceptionally talented singers who consider it an honour to sing the anthem at major events. If their many losses haven't prevented us from continuing to cheer for the Reggae Boyz, Chris' one blunder should not mean an end to a usually inspiring part of football matches.

I am, etc.,

Antoinette Excell

5 Lexington Avenue

Kingston 3