Arwind Santos shows remorse after humbling incident

MANILA, Philippines — More than winning the PBA Commissioner’s Cup crown, San Miguel Beer forward Arwind Santos learned a good lesson in life in their just-concluded showdown with TNT KaTropa.

In Game 5, Santos made a monkey gesture towards TNT import Terrence Jones, claiming it was part of “mind games.” But the Best Import awardee and many others had none of it, branding it as a racial slur. The PBA also felt this way, slapping Santos with a staggering P200,000 fine and required him to render 100 hours of community service and undergo seminar and counseling on equality and racial discrimination.

Santos publicly apologized in a video post on Twitter and during warmup for Game 6, he approached Jones to personally say sorry.

“I’m very happy, not just for the championship but for peace of mind,” Santos said in Filipino. “It’s one lesson learned that I will carry until old age.”

Jones accepted Santos’ apology.

“Yeah (I accepted it). I’m a human being. I just want him to respect me as a person and as a father and as a black man. I’m here to represent my family and I’m not saying anything bad about anybody’s culture or race. That’s all I’m saying,” he said after the game.

Santos said he felt good being forgiven by Jones.

“I believe every person in the world has a good heart. As for me, I’m willing to humble myself to say sorry and admit I did something wrong,” he said.