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The Last Mohican: Why I’m stepping away from Sports Journalism in Guyana
Hear Me Out!
Rawle Toney. (The Last Mohican)
By Rawle Toney
For two decades, sports journalism has been my life. It has taken me to almost every corner of the world, allowed me to live a life many only dream of, and has given me everything I have today.
From covering global tournaments to chronicling the rise and fall of athletes, I’ve been privileged to witness history through my lens. Yet, as I sit here reflecting, I feel it’s time to hang up my pen, not because the passion has faded, but because the battlefield has changed.
Sports journalism, to me, was never about simply reporting scores or describing the highs and lows of a game. It was about peeling back the layers, asking the hard questions, and holding power to account.
My candid approach, one grounded in balance and fairness, has always been my north star. However, in a landscape where critical voices are often silenced and side-lined, I’ve found myself increasingly blackballed for speaking inconvenient truths.
I’ve seen colleagues who keep their heads down and steer clear of controversy rise to prominence, receiving opportunities and accolades that have eluded me.
I’ve watched as they’ve been embraced for their silence while I’ve been shunned for my voice. And though I’ve never let envy creep into my heart, the blatant disparity has become impossible to ignore.
As a former national basketball player, I know the value of competition and the sting of injustice. Emotions run through me as fiercely now as they did on the court. Yet, unlike sports, where clear rules govern the game, journalism, especially in Guyana, operates in murkier waters.
Regardless of which government is in power, my work has often been met with hostility, as if holding up a mirror to the truth makes me an enemy of the state.
I didn’t grow up afraid to confront difficult issues. My early inspirations were sports journalists who dared to dig deep, who made people uncomfortable with their truths, and who believed in the transformative power of storytelling. Sadly, in today’s sports media, those values are vanishing.
Sports reporting in Guyana has devolved into a conveyor belt of match results, superficial profiles, and sanitized narratives. Critical and analytical reporting, the kind that challenges, educates, and inspires, has all but disappeared.
I often think of The Last of the Mohicans, a story about survival, honour, and the inevitability of change. If I must be the last of a dying breed of sports journalists who dare to tell it as it is, then so be it. I have no regrets about the path I’ve walked. But like Nathaniel in the film, who recognizes that the fight must sometimes give way to survival, I too must accept that my time in this arena has run its course.
This decision isn’t born of bitterness. It’s a choice for my sanity, my well-being, and my future. Journalism has been my identity for so long that stepping away feels like losing a part of myself. But in this transition, I see opportunity, a chance to explore other possibilities in media where my voice and talents can thrive without compromise.
To the aspiring journalists reading this, know that courage in this field is a double-edged sword. It will earn you respect in some quarters but resentment in others.
However, it is better to stand for something than to fade into the shadows of mediocrity. Sports Journalism must be more than a profession; it must be a calling. It must challenge, provoke, and inspire. If it doesn’t, then we are merely filling pages, not shaping minds.
As I prepare to step away, I carry with me the memories of a career that has been as rewarding as it has been challenging.
I will leave knowing that I gave everything to this profession, even when it gave little in return. And while the fight in me remains, it’s time to channel that energy elsewhere.
I am not saying goodbye to storytelling, only to the confines of a system that no longer values it. Like the final Mohican, I walk away with my head held high, knowing that I stayed true to myself, even when it cost me everything.
(The Last Mohican: Why I’m stepping away from Sports Journalism in Guyana)
(The Last Mohican)
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