MTB committee acts to take away Gari's crownBy JIMENITA SWAIN,Guardian Staff Reporter jimenita@nasguard.com

Gari McDonald was last night stripped of her Miss Teen Bahamas (MTB) crown one week after admitting she was a gay.

The MTB committee released a press statement Wednesday stating, "Gari McDonald no longer holds the title as Miss Teen Bahamas".

"[She] will no longer represent [us] and is no longer authorized to conduct any business on behalf of the Miss Teen Bahamas committee."

Kandra Knowles, 14, will replace Ms McDonald, 18, the committee added.

Richa Sands, assistant director of the MTB committee, told the Guardian in a telephone interview that the committee was unanimous in its decision.

"How are we suppose to tolerate this as a committee?," Ms Sands said. "Ms McDonald said that we were doing whatever because of her sexual orientation and she knows quite well that was not the issue we were dealing with initially."

Ms Sands said the committee was still investigating claims that Ms McDonald harassed another woman who was threatening to take legal action.

"Now, she went ahead by herself, nobody accused her," Ms Sands said. "She went publicly and put to the media and to the world at large, her sexual position as a teenager."

As a representative of the Miss Teen Bahamas title and a representative of this country, "for us that is a major problem because we don't stand for that".

Ms Sands added, "I am nearly ready to give birth to a child and this whole situation has been truly frustrating, especially as a Christian."

She said the contract did not say the committee would not accept a gay contestant because "we never had to deal with that".

Ms Sands pointed out, "That now becomes a issue that we have to look at. Now we have to go before our lawyer and revamp and try and figure out how do we deal with this.

"We don't want anything like this to ever happen again."

Ms Sands said the harassment allegations and the press conference held by Ms McDonald last week could be viewed as "scandalous behaviour".

But she revealed that Ms. McDonald had not been stripped of her prizes.

"The only things that we expect back from her are the emblems that represent the Miss Teen Bahamas title and that is the crown and the banner," Ms Sands said. "Any prizes that she may have received or alleged that she has not received, we're not even trying to get back from her."

Several calls were made to Ms McDonald but she was not available for comment by press time. Last week she accepted that since going public about her sexuality there would be repercussions.

She said, "It is almost been the end of my reign and I have been given the ultimatum of gracefully stepping down or having to deal with the embarrassment of being stripped by the Miss Teen Bahamas committee, on the basis of one person's accusation against me."

The search for the next Miss Teen queen is slated for November 20 Ms Sands said.