Dangerous precedents

I THOUGHT I had  seen it all but this seems to have taken the cake…

I was looking forward to watching this season’s UAAP games because I felt  that it’s still the best  collegiate league around, producing quality games at a high standard.

However, as early as last year I already told some people at the executive board my feelings on the quality and inconsistency of  the officiating.

I suggested that there should be a better management team to run the league.  This can only be achieved if there is a continuity in the commissioner’s office for longer than one year.  The system of changing the commissioner every year will prevent this from ever happening.

Furthermore, I  was taken aback  when I learned that some players were being suspended without proper due process.

What we see here happening is a first in Philippine basketball, wherein the commissioner’s office has the power to suspend players after the game without having the referee call the incident during the game.  They should learn from the PBA, where players are given due process before they are suspended.

If this continues, it would  be encouraging players to overreact on physical contact  so that the other player will be suspended. This is called “flopping.”  In the NBA there are penalties called for flopping.

Also, with the quality of officiating that we now have, it will be more difficult for referees to determine the truth of what really happened.

It’s a pity because the league is now coming into the finals with these precedents being allowed to take place.

If this issue is not addressed,  it may be tantamount to giving the commissioner’s office disproportionate  power in determining the  league’s champion for the year.

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