But in a cruel irony, it seems that young Rodriguez didn't actually need to pay the fee that evening. That's according to the Minister of Sports, Rodwell Ferguson. To his understanding, the fee is for teams, and Rodriguez was there on his own, accompanied only by his little cousin.
Now, Ferguson said that while this tragedy should have never happened, the directions need to be made clear to whoever is manning the gate. A little late for that now, but….as for the team fee, well, the ministry will have to look into that.
Hon. Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Sports
"It's very unfortunate and I want to offer my condolences to the family, a young man 19, 20 years old, the man his life just got cut short and somehow don't want to comment because it's going to be a court case but the security or the caretaker was there and I understand he went in and asked the young man if he had a ticket so apparently he thought that the young man paid to go into the stadium. When I checked with the sports director he told me that nothing was needed. Only teams when they come in they pay a $15 fine to use the stadium for the day. So, I guess it just transpired and then the end result was really devastating."
Cherisse Halsall:
"We have to ask, for a mother whose son goes to a field to play football, you know it's something constructive, how should she feel?"
Hon. Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Sports
"I know, I said, it's so unfortunate as I said and it pained my heart when I saw it this morning on Facebook it's the reality, you can't change it but as the sports council, we have to do things differently. I have to put rules and regulations in place to have them understand what is the protocol as a caretaker and what you're supposed to do and, this, I don't know."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Will there be any thought sir to changing anything on this recreational user fee that is being charged?"
Hon. Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Sports
"Well, I want to change the narrative down the road because to use the stadium and when it comes to especially electricity, so we want to approach the media down the road to see if there can be a reduction in costs or basically 0 costs for sports across the country."
The National Sports Council has also issued a press release sending condolences to Rodriguez's family. They say they are working closely with the police during this investigation.
