It was with great shock and sadness that I read the article “Out of Bounds” (Oct. 11) by Maya Sugarman and Matt Stevens and its depiction of Mr. Touomou as a man “in the “˜business’ of selling” scholarships to hopeful Cameroonian basketball players.
From February 2006 through December 2007 I served as the cultural affairs officer for the U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé, Cameroon. In my capacity as the CAO, I had the good fortune of working closely with Mr. Touomou and his yearly basketball camp for boys and girls in Cameroon.
In my time working with him and communicating with him about the camp and his other youth-related basketball endeavors in the years since, I have at no point ever gotten the impression, heard rumors or even remotely suspected that he received any financial or personal gain for his efforts.
In fact, each time we spoke, he mentioned his goal of raising funds or partnering with sports entities for in-kind donations to support the youth of Cameroon. Joe Touomou feels a deep sense of gratitude for the opportunities afforded to him and has made it a mission to attempt to offer those same opportunities to others who came from his same humble background.
I am flabbergasted at the allegations and would like to make clear my counter opinion to how Mr. Touomou has been characterized.
Sadly, oftentimes when someone is doing what is right ““ and choosing not to do what is unethical ““ it can create a backlash of ill will. I am certain that this is the situation in this case.
The authors are correct in that there is certainly a “business” aspect to sports recruitment on the continent. Where there are vulnerable people, sadly, there will be exploitation at the hands of greedy predators.
I, however, want to make it clear that it is my firm and committed belief that Joe Touomou is not one of them.
Noelle Ojo
Washington, D.C.
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