The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I am of the belief that Free National Movement Senator Rick Fox chose his words carefully when he announced to the Senate that he will be seeking a leadership position within the FNM. Critics of Fox were being disingenuous when they reframed the words of the former NBA player in an effort to convey the idea that he had announced that he would be contesting the leadership post at the upcoming convention. They want there to be bad blood between Fox and FNM Leader Michael Pintard.

There seems to be this troubling assumption in some circles that the FNM leadership is off limits to others. It is important for the current FNM leadership to disabuse the narrative that any FNM in good standing with the political organisation who exercises his democratic rights in challenging Pintard at convention is anti-FNM or is trying to sabotage the party. Political maturity would still count candidates for the FNM leadership post as fellow comrades, not political rivals or enemies who must be jettisoned to the political scrapyard. This attitude would only serve to further weaken an already weak FNM. Glenys Hanna-Martin challenged Prime Minister Philip Davis for the leadership of the Progressive Liberal Party in October 2017.

Hanna-Martin, despite her lopsided defeat after a contentious campaign, was still appointed to the Davis Cabinet after the PLP won the general election in 2021. As for Fox, which leadership position would he seek at convention? Is he eyeing the FNM deputy leader position? What about the chairmanship of the FNM? Or does he want to be FNM leader? If the latter, then I am not sure members of the FNM Central Council and other delegates trust him to the extent that they would hand over to him the reins of the party. In February of this year, Fox was one of 12 candidates ratified by the FNM for the Garden Hills constituency at the party headquarters on Mackey Street. About a week after this announcement, I recall Davis telling the press that Fox sought a PLP nomination for either Killarney or Long Island, which was denied by Fox.

However, it was under the Davis administration that Fox was appointed ambassador -at-Large for Sports in August 2022. This appointment has led many PLPs to believe that Fox is a closet PLP, even to this day despite him being an FNM senator. Despite his celebrity status and the numerous endorsements his campaign received from some high-profile American celebrities, Fox did not fare well in his contest in Garden Hills, receiving just 1,433 votes to Mario Bowleg’s 2,022 votes. Fox was a victim of a powerful and well-funded political tsunami on New Providence that swept away 23 of the 25 FNM candidates in the capital.

I was surprised he fared so poorly, considering his celebrity status and him being a former member of the Los Angeles Lakers, a team many thousands of Bahamians rooted for since the days of Ervin “Magic” Johnson and Kareem Abdul -Jabbar. Based on the many comments I had read on social media after the Fox ratification, I got the sense that many Bahamians resented his nomination and sought to punish him for his stellar accomplishments in his professional basketball and acting careers. Fox faced significant pushback from those engaging in class warfare without even knowing it. It is very likely he would face a similar situation in the event he becomes FNM leader. Bahamians are a funny set of people.

Not being a member of the House of Assembly is a massive hurdle Fox would have to overcome if he intends to challenge Pintard at convention. Many Bahamians were cynical of Fox’s financial declaration of $469 million ahead of the May 12 general election. He will also have to overcome the distrust of some rank-and-file FNMs that he is not a political opportunist who treated the opposition party like a plan B after allegedly being denied a PLP nomination.

KEVIN EVANS

Freeport,

Grand Bahama

November 1, 2026.