The Barbados Cricket Association has issued the following statement in relation to former chief executive officer Jefferson Miller.
The Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) and Mr Jefferson Miller have agreed to a mutual separation.
Consistent with the BCA’s commitment to transparency in its operations and its adherence to good governance principles, the BCA also wishes to take this opportunity to address the misinformation circulating in the press and on social media regarding the process which led to the appointment of Mr Miller.
The facts are as follows:
1. The BCA contracted the professional recruitment agency Profiles Caribbean Inc. to assist in the recruitment of a chief executive officer.
2. An advertisement was subsequently placed in the local papers and online in September 2013
3. 24 applicants applied for the post, including Mr Miller. Seven candidates were initially shortlisted and the list was thereafter reduced to five in March 2014. Mr Miller was included on both of these lists.
4. A second round of interviews was subsequently held in May 2014 with the two remaining candidates, one of whom was Mr Miller.
5. When Mr Miller presented for the second round of interviews, upon the BCA’s request, he furnished the BCA with a character certificate issued by the Broward Sherriff’s Office Records Division – Sherriff Office Broward County dated May 15th, 2014.
6. The BCA thereafter contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and conducted a state wide search of Mr Miller. This search indicated that Mr Miller did not have an arrest record.
7. Mr Miller also provided the BCA with the appropriate number of references including one written by the Mayor of the City of Lauderhill, Florida, Mr Richard J. Kaplan and another from a prominent local attorney.
8. Mr Miller’s tenure with the BCA commenced on June 23rd, 2014.
9. Mr Miller requested leave from the BCA in July 2014 to attend to what he described as an urgent personal medical matter overseas.
10. Recent developments indicate that Mr Miller was sentenced in Florida for a criminal offence on July 25th, 2014, a full month after being initially contracted.
The BCA wishes in the circumstances to assure its membership, and the public, that all reasonable due diligence was conducted in this matter, prior to the appointment of Mr Miller to the post of chief executive officer of the BCA, as the above factual timeline confirms.
Significantly, the information regarding Mr Miller’s conviction and sentence came to light subsequent to Mr Miller’s completion of his probationary period and confirmation by the BCA’s Board on September 22, 2014.
The BCA remains focused on and committed to its mandate of promoting and developing cricket – this nation’s most treasured sport.
