NCAA unfair to CJ

For failing to notify the NCAA in writing of his application for the Dec. 16 PBA draft, Lyceum star C. J. Perez has been stripped of the honors that he would’ve earned this season. Perez was a shoo-in as MVP but the NCAA has chosen to discriminate against the “Baby Beast” who was born in Hong Kong to a Filipina overseas worker and raised in Pangasinan.

The NCAA cited the rule that requires players to inform the league of their intent to join the PBA draft. It’s actually a formality because the NCAA allows a player to enter the draft even in the year they’re in the collegiate league for as long as it’s after the season and the player won’t be back with the varsity. In the UAAP, a player isn’t allowed to join the draft in the year they’re in the league, regardless of whether he’s not returning or the season is over. 

The rule has something to do with making a distinction between a collegiate or pro player. But it doesn’t make sense. In the NCAA, a player is required to notify the league of intent. But what for? Once the NCAA season is over and a player isn’t going back, he’s free to play where he chooses even if he’s still enrolled in college. It’s worse in the UAAP because a player’s human right to seek a livelihood is curtailed by a restricting rule that smacks more of power tripping than preserving the integrity of the varsity league.

The NCAA lowered the boom on Perez last Monday, the day before he was supposed to suit up for Lyceum in Game 1 of the NCAA Finals against San Beda. If Perez or his team intended to seek a TRO so he could play, it was too late to secure a reprieve. In 2007, San Beda’s Yousef Al Jamal was penalized because of a similar violation by the NCAA but managed to obtain a TRO and the league couldn’t prevent him from playing. 

The NCAA, however, bent over backwards in suspending Perez only for a game when it could’ve been the entire Finals. The discretionary decision only proved the NCAA could’ve also done something to give Perez the individual honors he worked hard for. Another controversial case involving the NCAA was a finding that four Perpetual players had violated their terms of residency. The NCAA couldn’t rule on the protest because of lack of quorum then later absolved the players because Perpetual affirmed that they were cleared to play in a non-NCAA league with a school-based team. Actually, it would’ve been an injustice if Perpetual was prohibited from suiting up the players who had been declared eligible before the season began. It also came after the cut-off on protests regarding eligibility at the end of the first round, But let’s face it, a mid-term protest could only lead to witch-hunting, confusion, politicking, dissension and unnecessary emotional trauma on the players involved. The rule should be once a player is declared eligible before the start of the season, then he should be allowed to play until the end. Any finding of a violation of an eligibility rule after the season has started should not be entertained.

Some years back, the UAAP swooped down on Adamson high school star Encho Serrano with the season almost over and the player a shoo-in for MVP honors. Adamson’s wins were reversed and Serrano struck out of MVP contention. How cruel was that? Serrano was cleared to play at the start of the season then took a hit from unscrupulous bushwhackers. A technicality was raised to censure Serrano and that itself was highly debatable. But in a vote among rival schools, neither Adamson nor Serrano stood a chance of escaping sanction.

If the rule that Perez violated had something to do with drugs or playing in an outside league during the season, then by all means, he should be penalized and honors taken away. But the rule he violated shouldn’t even be a rule. The NCAA’s insensitivity, and for that matter, the UAAP’s, towards a student-athlete, unfortunately, is a habit. Disallowing Perez to play in Game 1 of the Finals was surely a decision that San Beda wouldn’t support. The Lions would rather win the championship with Perez playing than sitting on the bench, suspended for a violation that’s an NCAA folly.

Instead of cracking down on student athletes for failing to notify the league of an intent to join the PBA draft, the NCAA should focus on upholding the status of collegiate players as amateurs. How can NCAA and UAAP players be considered amateur when they’re openly receiving endorsement money, appearing on TV and in movies and engaging in commercial activities. If the NCAA and UAAP claim they’re amateur leagues, that’s the joke of the century. It’s a fact that some NCAA and UAAP players are earning more than pros in the PBA. Something is terribly wrong with that.