USACA suspends maverick secretary

The USA Cricket Association has suspended executive secretary Kenwyn Williams and is investigating his role in a protracted and angry exchange with journalists and stakeholders on the official USACA Facebook page, which was taken down shortly before 11 a.m. EST on Friday. USACA president Gladstone Dainty confirmed the suspension to ESPNcricinfo pending a hearing at a board meeting on November 10 in Florida.

"Based on what I've seen, what has been going on has not helped cricket in the United States. I don't think it has helped cricket at all," Dainty said. "That is so mindboggling. I don't think that US and world cricket deserved that, but I'm still waiting for an attempt to justify it."

When contacted by ESPNcricinfo, Williams maintained his stance that he feels he garnered good publicity for cricket in the USA and claimed that his suspension has more to do with "other much larger issues" not related to his comments posted on the USACA Facebook page.

"This has nothing to do with a facebook feed that accidentally went viral which I think personally was good for the USA aspect of the sport," Williams wrote in an email. "The board and I are at an impasse. I have been kept out of the loop for the past 2 months on matters that directly relate to the executive branch of USACA. Meetings were held and plans were drafted without my knowledge. The update on the 100 day plan was not presented to the board for review, input or consent. It was drafted by John [USACA treasurer Thickett] and Michael [USACA vice-president Gale] and the first I heard of it was from a blog."

Dainty said the incident illustrated the need to hire professional staff to manage things rather than relying on volunteers. USACA had announced earlier this month that they planned to hire a chief executive by Friday, but the process is still ongoing although Dainty hoped it will be finished shortly. He also hoped the organization will be able to move on from the past week's events.

"The level of activity required to run a national organization requires a professional staff. It shouldn't be done by volunteers and board members," Dainty said. "I don't know if stress gets to them but I think if it's done by professional staff, we'd certainly be less tardy, more accurate and be able to give out more information and do a whole lot more.

"The board should be there for policy and things like fundraising and developing long-term vision, but the constitution says the CEO should be in charge of day-to-day operations. We need to be worthy of the positions for which we're elected. We shouldn't be trying to go too far."