(According to the Freeport News, sensational Bahamian professional basketball star Jonquel Jones recently was granted citizenship of Bosnia-Herzegovinia. On her Facebook page, the Grand Bahama native explained her reason for seeking citizenship from Bosnia and Herzegovina, situated in the western Balkan Peninsula of Europe.
By JONQUEL JONES
Hey Bahamas! in light of everything that has transpired yesterday, I felt compelled to elaborate. First off I’d like to commend Fred (Sturrup), the editor and chief of the Freeport News, on writing a great article. Everything he said was true and well planned. To everyone at home, please know that I am and will always be a Bahamian.
There is nothing that can change that and no amount of money in the world could ever make me give up my citizenship. That being said, as a professional athlete I have a very short window to capitalize on everything I have worked for my entire life. The European passport allowed me to propel myself financially and competitively with the only stipulation being that I would no longer be able to play for the Bahamian national team.
I hope that everyone will understand and respect that. Lastly, to reiterate a great point made in the article, I implore the government of The Bahamas (regardless of who is in power) to realize, stress, and invest in sports in our country. We’ve seen countless athletes leave home and become not only competitive in their respective sports, but world class acts. I challenge them to create an infrastructure that will allow our kids to do it at home! Hopefully, in the future my situation would be a thing of the past and not a reoccurring theme.
Signing Out
The VAT paying, Conch eating Bahamian
