Bigotry, racism in sports

“I don’t understand when people ask us how ‘Filipino’ we feel. “The blood that runs through us runs through our “homegrown” teammates. Just because we were born in another place or grew up in a different country doesn’t make us less Filipino. We feel Filipino every second of our lives.” – Rob Gier, Philippine Azkals.

A storm swirled in cyberspace over the past week, particularly on social networking sites, about harsh comments made about members of the Philippine men’s football team on a morning television program Tuesday. The words broadcast became a divisive issue with the initial wedge being the charges of sexual harassment levied against two members of the team. One note to this, however, is that broadcasters who work on both television and audio sometimes confuse the boundaries between the two, though in this case, it is clear the boundaries of both were breached. At any rate, the Philippine Football Federation has made its protest formal, and the network has responded.

Technically speaking, the comments are a form of bigotry, or “having an unreasonable dislike of others based on their race, religion, or politics”. Racism, “the belief that races have distinctive cultural characteristics determined by hereditary factors and that this endows some races with an intrinsic superiority over others” is a form of bigotry.

Stepping back from the emotional forest fire lit by the comments, let us look at the facts. Though the meaning of sexual harassment varies from place to place (even from state to state in the US), included in some definitions are derogatory or demeaning comments made about the victim’s anatomy. According to my long-time broadcast partner and sports columnist Atty. Ed Tolentino, the particular case in question seems to fit unjust vexation more. Either is a form of disrespect if ultimately proven. Time and football authorities will be the ultimate judge.

Now on to the new issue brought to light.

Legally speaking, in many countries a person is entitled to the citizenship of either parent (jus sanguinis) or place or territory of birth (jus soli) or even both (dual citizenship). This means, for example, that the child of a Chinese father and Flipino mother born in the United States actually has three choices of citizenship. Further, if you have at least one parent who is a Filipino citizen at the time of your birth, you are entitled to Filipino citizenship. By this definition, the Azkals all have a legal right to call themselves Filipino, just as Fil-foreign professional basketball players in the PBA do. That right cannot be denied them unless they commit overt acts of nationalism to another sovereign state or worse.

As Filipino citizens, they may represent the country in international sporting competitions, and even other countries if they are considered imports or are naturalized in those countries. A memorable exemption would be Nigerian Hakeem Olajuwon, whose US citizenship was fast-tracked so that he could play basketball for the US in the Atlanta Olympics. South African middle-distance runner Zola Budd Pieterse was hurriedly transformed into a British citizen to run in the Los Angeles Games in 1984. However, this was not the case with the Azkals, who even have two sets of brothers playing in the AFC Challenge Cup.

Secondly, many of the Azkals volunteered to play for the Philippines when they heard that the national team was starting to become more active internationally. Remember, just two years ago when most of them joined the team, there was no glory to be had. The Azkals were practically anonymous. To this day, many of them give up substantial income in Europe to wear the Philippine flag and risk reduced income if they get injured. Not everyone would do that without batting an eyelash.

Third, if the Azkals are popular and benefit from television exposure, that is not their fault. It is a by-product of their celebrity, largely brought about by ABS-CBN’s decision to gamble on them a little over a year ago. The fact that the players are considered good-looking and therefore ideal for product endorsement may be an accident of birth aided by advertising agencies’ attitudes skewed more towards Caucasian-looking models. Again, not their doing.

Fourth, if the case against the two Azkals Lexton de la Cruz Moy and Angel Aldeguer Guirado is resolved against them (and it hasn’t at this point), that does not mean the entire team is prone to bad behavior. Granted, whatever negative behavior they displayed must not be condoned. But the PFF, being both the authority on Philippine football and a private entity, has the right to recruit and field whoever they deem most suitable for the country’s national soccer teams, men’s, women’s, youth, etc.

Fifth, are the Azkals (or anyone else, for that matter) to blame for who they are biologically? Is it their fault that their mothers fell in love with and had families with non-Filipinos and found a decent life abroad? That is tantamount to punishing the son for the life of the parent.

If these Fil-foreign players were your child, or grandchild of cousin, would you not embrace them the way we would anyone of your flesh and blood? Well, they are someone’s son, grandson and cousin, some Filipino or Filipina’s flesh and blood. And so far, that fact has not been disproven. Let us judge them then by their actions. Condemn the deed if need be, not the doer.