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Where do we draw the line between the public's right to know and an individual's right to privacy, especially when that individual is a celebrity?

In the wake of comments by Reverend Wes Hall, president of the West Indies Cricket Board, telling the media to leave Brian Lara alone FANFARE took the question to the streets.

He has a responsibility and when you are in the position Lara has reached, you have a responsibility to the public and the fans, said Wayne Miller.

Lara is a world class player, so his life has become an open book. Everyone will want to know who his girlfriend is, who he is dating. He is a celebrity and that goes along with it.

This view was also shared by Earl Ifill.

When you become a celebrity, I don't feel you should be left alone. You need to keep proving yourself more and more, so I feel Lara should be out there trying to perform to let people know he is still the cricket king, Ifill said.

But he drew the line with his privacy.

When it comes to your private life I feel that should be left alone, but once it comes to sport, it should be open.

Derek Marshall was all for preserving the privacy of the individual since everyone makes mistakes and deserves a chance.

It is clear that Hophni Sargeant is a fan of the Trinidadian batting star. He felt the media put too much pressure on Lara and that affected his performance.

When you have the media out there hounding you down, and every time you pick up the paper and see somebody with something negative about you, it can't help your confidence, and we need Lara full of confidence to take on the Sri Lankans, he said.

It is all right to be interested, but to be applying pressure with your comments and negative criticism, I don't think that is good for the athletes, regardless of who it is. They should leave him [Lara] alone and let him concentrate on his batting, he added.

Lara is one of the better players in the team and he is a celebrity, so obviously people would tend to be more interested in him. I really think they should leave Lara alone, because once you try to question what he does it would put more pressure on him so it would be hard for him to concentrate and perform at his best, said Vincent Burke.

You have to draw the line somewhere, said the domino player.

© The Barbados Nation