David Kortie must not belittle sports writers - (Part One)  

Friday, May 19, 2006    

             By Omari Jackson  - SWAL-USA

I read the recent outcry by David Kortie, chairman of female soccer at the Liberia Football Association, against sports writers with pain and disappointment. Kortie’s claim is unhealthy and can destroy the enthusiasm that sports writers have built over the years to help develop the game and promote its female players.

According to the report, Kortie said when it comes to a trip abroad, since reporters just report the results of the game, he can do the “same,” and therefore a reporter is not needed on a trip. This means after all he can record on a piece of paper the results of a game.

Well, all that is good. If the encounter ends in a draw Kortie can easily write, Lone Star female 1, Nigerian side 1. He can also make sure that he gets the name of the individual players who might score their respective goals for their sides, if there is a winner. Fine. But is that all to reporting the outcome of an encounter? Not by any means.

So there are few questions that Kortie and those that think like him must consider: What about the individual skills and exceptional performances of players? How well is Kortie trained to report on those skills demonstrated that will encourage players to do their best next time?

Does he have the training or the writer’s eye to report on the sterling performance, of say, a goalkeeper? Is Kortie trained enough to see what a writer or reporter will see and report? Does Kortie know what NEWS to report to the general public at the end of an encounter?

Does he know how to examine and evaluate individual performances at the end of a game? Is he able to preview the chances of the team before a game? As chairman of the female side, does he have the training to conduct an interview for publication, after an encounter? Will he interview himself for publication on an important issue affecting the team? Is he trained to report to the general public what goes wrong or what may bring the team’s success?

For instance, during a game if a goalkeeper makes one or two saves, which deny their opponents victory, is Kortie trained as a reporter/writer to be able to observe and record those finale moments with accuracy and honesty to convince the fans of the happening? True, having followed the game, (IE) and apparently having played somewhere when he was growing up, (maybe an old timer) Kortie can boast of an association with the game and may likely know some of the rules.

But isn’t it true that sports writing is a specialized skill that only the trained reporter can write and broadcast to teeming fans? The above questions should be enough for David Kortie and his friends to ponder. I must say that Liberian sports need more men and women to report and broadcast as well as examine teams’ preparedness for matches. As Liberia regains its position and many sporting programs come on the scene, it is the sports reporter/writer/broadcaster that is needed to bring the teeming fans what is happening to the team in its preparation.

It is the sports writer who will write or broadcast pieces to demand national attention whenever there are lapses on official support to the team. This is the truth that David Kortie must learn to accept. I am aware that there is the need for more sports writers and reporters, and the fellows at the Sports Writers Association of Liberia (SWAL) will be glad to welcome him and help him achieve his aim. They can help him, even if he failed English 101.

Truly, sport reporting is an exciting field of writing. It gives the writer/reporter the opportunity to meet sports stars. There are occasions that sports writers contribute to make stars out of nobodies and thus help create stars. It is sports writers who naturally can make certain names or titles more popular.

Those that come to mind are Salinsa, who was called with love and respect by sports writers as LIBERIA MOST CELEBRATED PLAYER, and Oppong, on the other hand was known also with love and admiration as THE WIZARD DRIBBLER, just these two examples.

And if David Kortie still thinks that he is as good at recording the results of a game as a reporter, where will he publish his results? One idea is, if he still finds it difficult to accept reality, and with the support of the LFA the reporter is excluded from the trip, the media should refuse whatever report he would bring from the match, so that since he is now a reporter and chairman at the same time, he may write his results and photocopy them.

Then he must leave them at the Liberian Football Association's (LFA) headquarters for distribution. Perhaps the love of money is responsible for David Kortie’s desire to prevent a trained reporter from covering the away matches involving the female side. Since he did not raise the issue of funding, it goes without saying that he has some interest in the “money” a reporter will need for the trip.

A strange development is the silence of the Liberia Football Association. Why is the LFA silent? Does the silence of the LFA suggest Kortie’s view is an official policy? Is Kortie being used to do the dirty work for officialdom? It will be interesting how the LFA will answer to those questions. And the Liberia Football Association should wake up and states its position on the simmering issue. 

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Omari Jackson was a founding member of the Sports Writers Association of Liberia, and presently the organizing chairman of SWAL-USA. He served as secretary-general of SWAL-LIBERIA and was vocal on critical issues affecting sports writing and writers in Liberia. He presently resides in Atlanta-GA, USA. Contact: omarinush@iwon.com