Email

Print

Today we asked the man who fired him - Sports Director Ian Jones. He told us why he wrote the letter of termination:

Ian Jones, Sports Director
"Brian has been employed at the National Sports Council for quite some time, even prior to me becoming the director. His primary responsibilities were to visit the stadiums at night: Marion Jones, MCC and Roger's Stadium and make sure that the facility workers were at the stadium, the security workers etc., and he was to have them sign a log book for 2 purposes; to show that they were at the stadium and that he visited them. For quite some months we haven't received that log book from Yellow and I contacted him and got no response. So it reached at point where I instructed my HR to start to make deductions from his salary just as we would with any other employees. It so happens that Yellow believed that he was privileged enough to not fall under that category as everybody else and so Yellow contacted me asking how come there is no payment for him and I informed him as to the reasons and I told him HR would contact you. Conversations continued to it reached a point where requested that he and I go through and back and forth that I terminate him and he gets his payoff."

Reporter
"So he asked you to terminate him?"

Ian Jones, Sports Director
"He asked to be terminated. I mean I have terminated several staff over the past 2 years for abandoning their post. Why would I now not do it to Brian? I mean staff who has abandoned their post for a week, 2 weeks, we have to replace them. Somebody who has done so for months upon months. There was nothing special about it and I honestly don't know why they media decided that they would take up that charge and give him time on the air, because in all fairness then you should give time to everybody else terminated since I've been here."

Reporter
"But he framed it within the specific context that because of the leadership contest in the UDP and the fact that he is supporting John Saldivar and Patrick Faber is the minister of sports, that the Minister of Sports instructed and instrumentalize you to fire Yellow, because he is not going to continue to eat under me while he is supporting Saldivar. Is that the truth?"

Ian Jones, Sports Director
"To be honest with you, the reason Yellow lasted here so long was because of the DPM. I had wanted to terminate Yellow a long time ago."

Reporter
"Were you instructed by the Minister of Sports to, because you said he intervene to keep his job, so if he intervene to keep his job, then he can intervene for him not to keep his job. Did the minister call and say you know what, we give him enough rope, hang him."

Ian Jones, Sports Director
"No. Actually I informed the minister after I had already drafted the letter. There was nothing special about the termination of Yellowman. Nothing at all."

Reporter
"But he was a special case, because Yellowman is a UDP soldier. These are people who, according to the logic of how governments are run, these people have to eat, they have to be fed when their party is in, because when their party is out they will starve."

Ian Jones, Sports Director
"I don't serve any political party as the director of sports council. I serve the people of Belize."

Reporter
"So then he said specifically that the minister instructed you. You denied that. Second, he said that you told him that it is not your will or wish to terminate him. You told him that you are doing the Minister's bidding. Is that true?"

Ian Jones, Sports Director
"That is a blatant lie. I had no such conversation with Yellow in terms of me not wanting. Listen, from the say I became director I met with Yellow and told him, listen this is not as usual, you will work for your pay."

Reporter
"You note in your letter that since June 1st, 2019 he had been mal-performing. I would say sir that despite all your claims of being a transparent and efficiency based manager, you indulge him, because any staff in my organization who doesn't work from June 1st, you will not receive your letter of termination in November, you will get it June 5th."

Ian Jones, Sports Director
"With everything you have to follow the law. We have laws and regulations instituted and first you give verbal warnings - listen I am not here to take bread out of anybody mouth, as strict as I am I am also lenient with my staff."

Reporter
"Is there any feeling that you harbor that I went and I terminated this guy, it created a massive blowback on my minister, who is also your political honcho, your area representative and now you are trying to change the narrative in a damaged-control mode."

Ian Jones, Sports Director
"You of all persons can say that since I have become the director of national sports council, I have done many things that are the right things to do but may seem politically wrong or goes against what would be considered the political norm."

Jones showed us the text from Yellowman saying, quote, "just fire me and done." End quote, and hopefully end of this story.