Gordon vows to rid RP sports of politics

MANILA, Philippines - Like the other presidential bets before him, Sen. Dick Gordon said sports will be given a priority if and when he gets elected. But what differentiates the former Subic mayor from the rest is his vision for RP sports.

Saying it has been turned into a money-making business, Gordon vowed to lift the standard of RP sports through a sound program, infuse the values of sports in every athlete and rid it of politicians.

“In a country that starves for recognition, the rule is we must bring up the kids. The point is we have to have a sports program in every school. Intramurals should be encouraged,” said Gordon who talked about sports with the same depth as he tackled the other subjects during his meeting with The STAR editors yesterday.

The former Ateneo trackster, who said sports “made him,” also stressed the need for the country’s top sports leaders to work as a team and set aside personal ambitions.

“In sports, everyone has a role to play, there should be teamwork,” said Gordon. “But sports has become a business now, a source of graft.”

Aware of the turf war among the country’s top sports leaders, Gordon said he would see to it that politics will have no room in RP sports under his watch and would opt to appoint a sports official who could instead generate funds and not initiate dissent in the ranks.

“I would not put in politicians there but a guy who can generate money for sports. He must be wise in education but better as a fund-raiser,” said Gordon, who disclosed to have raised P18 million in his first fund-raising drive.

On the country’s quest for the first Olympic gold medal, Gordon said he would like to clinch if ever he gets elected but he stressed the need for the sports leaders to unite and for the athletes to learn the values that sports gives.

“We used to be No. 1 in basketball and baseball. But for some reasons, we lost it,” said Gordon.

He pointed to boxing icon Manny Pacquiao as role model and cited another boxing champion Nonito Donaire Jr. for his class.

“I have a lot of respect for Donaire. He’s a gentleman in every sense of the word. He’s got his values and his head is screwed in the right place. To me, that’s essential for every athlete,” said Gordon.

“Sports gives you values, so it doesn’t have to be the title,” he said. “The sports program in this country is title-oriented.”

He said the job of leadership is to uplift the level, the standard of participation, the standard of behavior and the standard of performance of the people.

“If you cannot do that, you have no business being in sports,” said Gordon.