Their comeback season just started but the Belize Elite Basketball League is in a deep internal crisis. A majority of the managers from the BEBL's 8 teams are in open opposition to the league's Commissioner and they've already overruled the Appeals Tribunal forcing the members of that body led by Chief Magistrate Sharon Frazer to resign en masse.
The dispute that has riven the league is all over Kirk Shabba Smith Junior - a much sought after 23 year old six foot seven forward.
He allegedly signed with two teams: the Belize City Defenders and then the Benny's Belize Hurricanes.
As a consequence, the league commissioner suspended him for a year, and the Hurricanes appealed that ruling to the APPEALS Tribunal. They found that he had only actually signed with the Hurricanes - and instructed the league to revoke the suspension and play on.
But, the other teams' owners and managers didn't like that one bit - so they got together and overruled the Appeals Tribunal - whose decisions, we should note, are final and cannot be appealed.
Today 5 of those team managers held a press conference to defend their position.
So, those owners and managers have come up with their own findings and conclusions to this matter, but the league commissioner is sticking with the decision of the Appeals Tribunal. So, they have taken a dire decision, basically to boycott all the Hurricanes' home games:
We note that Kirk Smith's mother says he only signed a legally binding contract with the Hurricanes.
