The President of Netball Jamaica (NJ) Dr Paula Daley-Morris has ‘categorically denied’ that Maureen Hall had a role to play in the selection of coach and players for its Sunshine Girls netball team.

Additionally, the president issued an apology to Hall on behalf of NJ and its affiliates for any distress she may have suffered owing to the wrongful accusation.

This follows a recent controversy involving former captain and head coach of the Jamaica senior netball team, Connie Francis, who rejected NJ’s proposal of jointly working alongside newly appointed Sunshine Girls head coach, Jermaine Allison-McCracken, an Englishwoman, until the association had assessed and made a decision on whom to continue as head coach.

“I’m seeking to clear the air about Miss Hall’s role in Netball Jamaica over the past year because of the malicious accusations that were levied at her in recent interviews,” Daley-Morris noted of statements made during media interviews.

“With regards to the accusations, I’m using this opportunity to publicly state that Miss Hall had nothing to do with Netball Jamaica’s attempt to set up coaching arrangements with the senior Sunshine Girls squad.

“In fact, she was off the island when the decisions were taken and learnt of her supposed role in the process through the media rage that was fuelled between March 22nd and 24th, 2017,” she added.

“She was accused of disliking coaches, interfering in their sessions and preventing people from representing their country. I say to you, none of the above is true.”

“I state categorically also that at no time in the history of Netball Jamaica has any selector singlehandedly picked players for a national squad. That is not how we do business,” she said.

Daley-Morris, while speaking at a function to introduce Allison-McCraken as head coach at the Sports Development Foundation’s offices on Thursday, explained that she had coerced Hall, a former national coach who stewarded the Sunshine Girls to bronze at the World Championships, to assist NJ’s development efforts.

“She agreed to serve as chairperson for the coaching certification panel; she agreed to serve as a member of the selection panel; and she agreed to serve as a member of the coaching committee, serving as mentor coach for four novice coaches only,” Daley Morris outlined.

She reinforced that Hall was expressly clear about her sole desire of teaching netball and had no problems imparting knowledge to young coaches.

“There were times when this mentorship role took her to training sessions, but only to those in which the mentees were involved. And where she attended, her focus was always on the specific activities of the mentees. She worked closely with these coaches only,” Daley-Morris stated.

“There were times when this work required her to interact with this mentee before, during and after their sessions. However, she made a concerted effort not to interfere with the general training plan where there was an appointed head coach.

“For example, the senior Sunshine Girls squad and Fast5 squad, she made a concerted effort not to interfere. Miss Hall’s major priority was only the Under-16 and Under-21 squads. She rarely interacted with coaches outside of those squads except for the period when apprentice coach Sasher-Gaye Henry was assistant coach for the senior Sunshine Girls,” she pointed out.

Consequently, the NJ president apologised to Hall.

“I’ll go further and offer her on behalf of the board of directors of Netball Jamaica and the affiliates of the Netball Foundation our sincerest apologies for any emotional distress she suffered as a result of any of those accusations,” she said.

“We sincerely hope that with the passage of time she’ll be able to forgive those who intentionally or unintentionally sought to bring her integrity and the professional manner in which she carried out her duties into disrepute.”