shot down speculation that the snubbing of sprinter Troy Douglas was politically motivated.

"I can assure you there was no bias and nothing nefarious,'' Anthony Roberts said after cricketer Clay Smith beat out the three-time Olympic semi-finalist for the Male Athlete of the Year trophy in Monday night's ceremony.

Speculation prior to, and after, last month's balloting was that Douglas would be overlooked based on his decision to represent Holland and criticism he levelled against Government funding.

But Roberts, who is also director of the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Parks and Recreation, said the committee unanimously agreed to disavow any outside influences even before filling out their secret ballots.

"They were vociferous in stipulating that whatever Troy did in 1997, he did on behalf of Bermuda,'' Roberts said.

Voting members of the committee are Mike Cherry, Jean Atherden, Judy Simons, Mike Sharpe and Royal Gazette sports reporter Lawrence Trott. Roberts also filled out a ballot, to be used only in the event of a tie, while a sixth member of the committee, the late Randy Benjamin, did not participate. "They take their task very seriously and honestly,'' Roberts said of the committee.

"They look at sports very objectively.'' Smith earned four of the five first-place votes and one second for a total of 91 points. Douglas had one first-place ballot, two seconds and two thirds for 73 points, while Brian Wellman, who had won the five previous years, was third with two seconds and two thirds for 66.

Douglas, 35, competed full-time on the Grand Prix track and field circuit. He shattered his own national 200-metre marks, finishing fourth in the World Indoor Championships and ninth at the World Outdoor Championships.

But Douglas, seeking greater coaching opportunities and more lucrative government funding, decided last fall to race for Holland, where he has been based for the past three years. His wife is also Dutch.

Smith was picked on the basis of two unbeaten centuries in the Red Stripe Bowl in Jamaica last October. However, he suffered a duck in his third match of the tournament and also performed poorly at the ICC Tournament in Malaysia last spring, Bermuda's only other overseas event.

Smith became the first person in the 17-year history of the award to be selected from a team sport, even though Bermuda posted losing records in both tournaments.