LET’S START with this:
Racism is the belief in the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against other people because they are of a different race or ethnicity. Modern variants of racism are often based in social perceptions of biological differences between peoples. These views can take the form of social actions, practices or beliefs, or political systems in which different races are ranked as inherently superior or inferior to each other, based on presumed shared inheritable traits, abilities, or qualities.
And I expect that to sink in as that is the reason for all this nonsense in the guise of so-called nationalism or “Filipino First Policy”.
So what’s all the fuss, rather nonsense, all about?
The National Collegiate Athletic Association or NCAA has announced that they will be implementing a rule prohibiting foreign players from participating in any sport by Season 96, which takes place in 2020.
For the uninitiated and non-sports fan:
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is an athletic association of 10 colleges and universities in the Philippines. Established in 1924, the NCAA is the oldest athletic association in the Philippines. The Philippine NCAA is not affiliated with the NCAA of the United States.
The organization and name itself is a misnomer as the sports association is not national in scope; since its founding and inaugural season it has only confined itself in Manila with only colleges and universities within the city as members.
To this day the NCAA has never had any member school from the other regions outside of Manila nor was there any serious attempt to truly make it national in scope as their name implies.
At best the NCAA is a “second rate copycat” of the real NCAA in the United States which is truly national.
It makes one wonder why there were no lawsuits for copyright infringement; perhaps the real NCAA didn’t bother with the smalltime “little brown American” copycat and just let it play in its insignificant playground.
But then again this is the Philippines where we have “Elvis Presley of the Philippines” or “Karen Carpenter of the Philippines”, so why not “NCAA of the Philippines”?
After all this is a nation of “second rate trying hard copycats”, remarked the original Cherie Gil.
So the NCAA will ban foreign student-players from participating in any sport in the coming NCAA Season 96 this 2020.
Really, who cares? Most natives are not even aware that there are other sports played in the NCAA. For them the NCAA is only basketball.
Of course this ruling prohibiting foreign student-athletes from participating is all about basketball. Have you ever heard of any Jamaican runner or Brazilian footballer in the NCAA?
Sorry, no Usain Bolt or Neymar Jr. look-alike in the NCAA.
It’s all about basketball in this basketball crazy nation where the average height of males is 5 feet 5 inches dreaming of playing above the rim in a sport where the average height is 6 feet 5 inches.
Excerpts from a July 4, 2018 article in MULTISPORT.PH by Stan Sy:
Despite having been openly talked about since 2014, the decision still baffles and angers many, from players and coaches to managers and fans alike. In a world where barriers are shrinking because of sports, it’s strange to impose a rule that could easily come across as xenophobic or even racist.
And yet, there’s something odd about a league in our country that doesn’t allow foreigners to participate simply because they aren’t Filipino. If we’re so gung-ho about having Filipinos succeed on the global stage, then why is it okay for an institution like the NCAA to deprive foreign student-athletes of this same opportunity?
Wait, there’s more. A party-list representative, a certain Mike Romero, a millionaire who owns a PBA basketball team – yes, the “Eat Bulaga” of basketball – wants Congress to legislate a law banning all foreign student-athletes from playing for their respective schools in the country.
Remind me again what marginalized sector of society is this millionaire Mike Romero representing.
Ultimately, with the lack of foreign student-athletes in the NCAA, everyone ultimately loses. Foreign students in participating colleges and universities miss out on an opportunity to represent their school, fans won’t be exposed to as much international talent as they have been in the past, and local players themselves won’t have that experience of seeing how they’d fare against raw talent from abroad — something that they’ll eventually have to be prepared for if they compete at an even higher level after college.
At the end of the day, it could just be a simple case of xenophobia. (brotherlouie16@gmail.com/PN)
