TNT elevates Parks case to PBA office

MANILA, Philippines — Following recent incidents of players sitting out an entire season after their contracts expired, PBA chairman Ricky Vargas said it’s about time to look for ways to better deal with such situations and ensure the protection of all parties.

The TNT squad is the latest to be affected by players’ self-imposed sabbaticals as guard Bobby Ray Parks Jr., in the middle of talks for a contract renewal with the Tropang Giga, suddenly announced he was skipping the next season due to “family reasons.” Management has doubted the players’ decision.

Parks’ case comes a year after former Ginebra center Greg Slaughter sat out the entire 2020 season so he could “work on myself on all aspects.”

Vargas intends to elevate Parks’ case to the PBA commissioner’s office.

“We’ll probably take a look at two points of view,” Vargas said after accepting the 2019 Executive of the Year award from the PBA Press Corps Sunday night.

“This is not the first time that this incident has happened. We’ll see how we can address this issue so moving forward, our policies are a lot clearer and fairer to everyone,” he added.

The issue will likewise be raised before the board of governors, which convened for a two-day planning session yesterday.

“Matters like this will be taken up. Because of the pandemic, we’re trying to address everything,” said Vargas.

The TNT exec, meanwhile, expressed confidence the Tropang Giga team will come out of the messy issue with Parks wiser.

“We will work around the difficulties and maybe, this will give us more inspiration to work together as a team,” he said. “Sometimes, difficulties like this make you stronger as a team. That’s more important.”

Parks, a vital cog for the PLDT franchise, cited “personal reasons” for the hiatus, apparently telling the team he was caring for his mother in the US. TNT officials led by PLDT chairman Manny V. Pangilinan himself doubted the truthfulness of this reasoning especially after seeing photos of Parks enjoying the beach in La Union.

Vargas said he sent private messages to Parks so they could talk but didn’t get a reply or a callback.

“Nakakalungkot lang kasi he’s such a very high-potential player that if he wants to be a real winner, he has to look at himself very carefully,” he said.

Meanwhile, save for a few notable cuts from an initial 97-man list, the 2021 PBA Rookie Draft remains deep with 86 eligible aspirants for the ceremony set to be held online on Sunday.

Eleven applicants did not catch the last bus including Filipino-foreign prospects Jason Brickman, Jeremiah Gray and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser due to lack of eligibility requirements, according to the final list released yesterday.

Taylor Statham and Tyrus Hill were among the last-minute exclusions from the field minus the necessary papers after the extended deadline for Fil-foreigners last Friday.

Andre Paras, Alec Stockton and Jerrick Ahanmisi, meanwhile, complied with the documents just in time.