Absence of malice

Now that the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Challenge Cup is over, it’s time to revisit what happened in the Azkals’ lockerroom before the recent Malaysia friendly at the Rizal Memorial pitch and determine if there was justifiable cause to charge two players with sexual harassment.

Match commissioner Cristy Ramos filed a report accusing Angel Guirado and Lexton Moy of “sexist and demeaning behavior.” She submitted a sexual harassment complaint to Lim Kia Tong, chairman of the AFC Disciplinary Committee, and called for the players’ sanction.

“Having been a match commissioner for girls, women’s, boys’ and men’s matches since 2003 at both AFC and FIFA levels, I have not experienced this crude and totally shameful behavior from a national team anywhere before this incident,” said Ramos, a former Philippine Olympic Committee president. “I truly regret and feel very ashamed that this disrespect comes from the national team of my country, the Philippines.” Ramos’ complaint sent shock waves in media, here and abroad, just as the Azkals departed for Nepal to play in the Challenge Cup. Those who dislike the Azkals because they’ve become too popular and “swell-headed” seized the opportunity to throw some licks in.

While it’s true that the Azkals are overnight celebrities, it’s no fault of theirs. They’re favorite poster boys, sought-after commercial endorsers and suddenly, the toast of social circles. Some of the Azkals are Fil-foreigners who play with clubs overseas like Neil Etheridge, Paul Mulders, Rob Gier, Ray Jonsson and Jason de Jong.  Other Fil-foreigners have relocated here and now play for local teams in the UFL like the Guirado and Younghusband brothers, Carli de Murga and Moy. The Fil-foreigners are dual citizens and carry Filipino passports to gain eligibility as national team players. They’ve got as much Constitutional right as full-blooded Filipinos to play for the country.

To discriminate against Fil-foreigners is a disgrace. It is unkind and inhuman. Several Filipino captains of industry who employ thousands of Filipinos are Fil-foreigners and nobody discriminates against them. But the Fil-foreign Azkals are easy targets because they’re young, vulnerable and don’t hit back.

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Ramos’ complaint accused Moy of referring to her breast size. “Must be a B cup,” Ramos quoted Moy as saying. “As I was the only female in the room, he was apparently referring to my bra size,” she said. “He could not have been talking about men’s athletic cups as their sizes are specified as extra-small, small, medium, large and extra-large vis-à-vis sizes of women’s brassieres which are specified in letters.” This was her version. But Moy said Ramos was farthest from his mind. He insisted he was joking around with two teammates and referring to one teammate’s pectoral muscles which he said “must be a B cup.”

In the lockerroom, the atmosphere is usually tense or relaxed. In this case, the players were in a light mood and seemingly oblivious to Ramos’ presence. But even for the sake of argument that Moy referred to Ramos’ bra size, was that a case of sexual harassment? Surely, sexual harassment is a serious charge. A show of disrespect by cracking a sick joke is not sexual harassment.

As for Guirado, Ramos said he stood in front of her in briefs. Guirado later claimed he was in his No. 12 playing shorts but wore no shirt. While it was conduct unbecoming of a gentleman, Guirado could hardly be guilty of sexual harassment. His Filipino mother living in Spain was distraught after hearing in Spanish media that her son had been accused of sexual harassment by an AFC official. She was in tears when she phoned her sister, Gloria Garcia, in Manila asking if her son was truly a sex fiend. She was assured that he isn’t.

Curiously, Ramos was with Azkals team manager Dan Palami after the match and said nothing about the lockerroom incident. Neither Palami nor coach Michael Weiss was in the lockerroom when Ramos entered.

“Like commissioner Ramos, I also believe that sexual harassment should not be tolerated in any situation,” said Palami. “I will look into the circumstances of this alleged incident and cooperate with any investigation. If it is proven that there was in fact malicious intent, I will make sure that proper sanctions are meted out. On behalf of the team, I sincerely apologize to commissioner Ramos for the distress this situation has caused her.”

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Some quarters are wondering why Ramos had to wash dirty linen in public. Could she not have complained to Palami or Weiss or the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) instead of going straight to the AFC, embarrassing the national team in the process? To give Ramos the benefit of the doubt, she acted as AFC match commissioner and was therefore answerable to the AFC not the PFF.

Did Ramos overreact and imagine she was the butt of the Azkals’ jokes? Perhaps. But again, she was a person of authority in the lockerroom, deserving of respect and recognition. The key is the absence or presence of malice. Was there malicious intent on the part of Guirado and Moy? Did their show of disrespect constitute grounds for sexual harassment?

In my opinion, Guirado and Moy were guilty of disrespecting an AFC official – not maliciously but childishly. Sexual harassment was definitely out of the question. The players were engaged in boyish lockerroom banter which they should’ve stopped in the presence of a person of authority. I think they would’ve behaved as childishly if the match commissioner were a male, meaning their remarks were neither discriminatory nor sexist. No doubt, they should be reprimanded for their behavior and apologize to Ramos. But please, let’s not let our imagination run wild and cry sexual harassment.

 As for those who dislike Fil-foreigners enjoying widespread adulation, they should learn to accept reality, forget crab mentality and remember that envy is a sin. What the Azkals did for the country in Nepal was admirable – they made football history. Instead of trying to bring down the Azkals, let’s unite and celebrate their moment.