Minister of Sports Dayasiri Jayasekara was critical of the behavior of National Netball Coach Deepti Alwis, citing that he will be having a word with her regarding her conversations with the media.
At a special felicitation ceremony held last week to appreciate the efforts of the national Netball team, who finished as runners-up at the recently concluded Asian Netball Championships, Minister Jayasekara praised the efforts of the entire team but also mentioned that he is prepared to take action against Coach Alwis for certain things she had said to the media. It is unclear as to exactly what the Minister was talking about but the coach herself denied any wrongdoing and was sure that upon discussion with the Minister, everything would be sorted out.
She went on to express that many people, both in the media and those in the Netball industry, had attempted repeatedly to blacken her name during the run-up to the Asian Championships and that it is those people who are responsible for the bad reputation she seems to have acquired.
Coach Alwis also mentioned that she is open to any discussion with the Minister as she was confident that she could prove her innocence over any allegations made against her.
“If I am given some advice or guidelines by the minister, I am more than willing to listen, since I have not done anything wrong. I will discuss this with the minister and prove my innocence to him….. The Minister was very happy about our win and that is more valuable to me than anything”
