Letter

Fr Travis Gabriel sets the example and exposes the hypocrisy

All fair-minded Sri Lankans who yearn for justice and fairplay should salute the rector of St. Joseph's College Fr. Travis Gabriel for his exemplary conduct in stepping in and awarding St. Peter's College victory in their big match which was disrupted by unruly elements from the rival camp who wanted to thwart a Peterite win.

What Fr.Travis has done is shut the door on hypocrisy and open the eyes of decision makers in this country who have kicked out justice and fairplay while clinging on to their titles and positions.

I am not a Christian but I must say without any fear that Fr. Travis is a man of God who stood up to his conscience and conducted himself like a true clergyman. Fr.Travis is one in a million unlike some of the clergy of other religions in this country who bluff and talk their way like politicians do and make headlines for the wrong reasons. Fr. Travis made the headlines in the Sunday Observer for the right reasons and it should have been written in letters of gold.

I can only hope that all heads of schools in the country who claim to promote sport and fairplay will take note of the example set by this exemplary priest. Sport is about fairplay and decency and should not be left in the hands of hooligans.

Sri Lanka needs more people like Fr. Travis if goodwill and justice is to be restored. Public order should not be in the hands of miscreants who not only ruin the values of society but also disgrace their wives, children and parents by their bad conduct.

Let me quote a famous saying that reads: "For when the One Great Scorer comes to write against your name, he writes not whether you won or lost but how you played the game".

Fr Travis, you played the game for all to see.

Ranjith Marasinghe

Galle