The Philippine Online Chronicles

Action makes sports events thrilling. It intensifies the tension, draws the audience in. But when fighting is played out of bounds, where no rules apply, with no whistle to pacify people, where do we draw the line?

Earlier this month, Roger Gorayeb—multi-titlist volleyball mentor of the San Sebastian College (SSC) and the San Beda College (SBC) basketball team—found himself facing that very question. In a recent National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) volleyball match in San Beda, a simple miscommunication resulted in an open fight. Gorayeb was on the casualty side, receiving bruises and a black eye. Pictures circulating on social networking sites framed the scene—Gorayeb, down on the floor, hugged and protected by his female players while an angry group of San Beda basketball players mobbed him.

Violence in sports

Brawling is not a new phenomenon in the world of sports. Even international competitions have their share of unscheduled fights outside the playing courts.

In 1994, a figure skating scandal broke out in the United States. Nancy Kerrigan, then the poster child of American figure skating, was attacked, with the assailant targetting her knees, causing her to withdraw from the national competition. Upon investigation, it was found out that one of the perpetrators of the crime was the live-in husband of Tonya Harding, Kerrigan’s co-athlete in the USA Olympic team. Harding admitted her participation in covering the incident up, and she was immediately removed from the Olympic team.

Fortunately, Kerrigan was able to come back after months of recovery and even won the silver medal in the same competition where Harding finished eighth.

The local sports scene is not immune to brawls either. In 2009, then Burger King starting guard Wynne Arboleda lost his temper and raged against a Smart Gilas fan on the sidelines. He said he lost control when the fan kept swearing at him. The fan sustained injuries from several punches thrown by the massively built PBA cager. Arboleda was suspended and fined. After issuing an apology, he was called back and continued playing in the PBA.

There are myriad reasons why such things happen, even in an institution well known for its tradition of discipline. For one, athletes are not entertainment automatons. They have feelings which are tried in the highly stressful environment of the game. The determination to reach triumph escalates all the feelings. In the Gorayeb-SBC incident, the “ho-hey” chant, a pre-game ritual of various teams, spurred the fight when San Beda Basketball import Olaide Adeogun misheard it and thought he was being referred to as an unggoy (monkey). Swear words followed, and soon an all-out scuffle.

Sportsmanship

This is not a question of who started it and who were the casualties. This is now a question of how such unfortunate cases stain the institution of sports. People follow sports because they showcase a different brand of “fighting,” where there are specific set of rules; where conflict take the form of a peaceful athletic performance. In such cases, the institution is reduced to a mere power struggle.

The incident in the NCAA is not acceptable because the discipline which defines the sports scene was violated. Even the oath of sportsmanship was not taken into consideration. It fosters a kind of belief that resolution can be fast-tracked to fighting and violence—a great contrast with the spirit of sports.

The NCAA administration has already vowed to investigate the incident. The Management Committee (ManComm) headed by Chairman Dr. Ramon Cercado of the University of Perpetual Help System Dalta is planning to create an ad-hoc committee to ensure fairness and objectivity. On the other hand, Coach Roger Gorayeb is already consulting with his lawyers to file legal charges against San Beda basketball coach Frankie Lim and some of the players of the San Beda College men’s basketball team; Coach Lim says he is prepared.

Of course, no one will win this endless cycle. Violence, even in sports, does not create resolution. It only fans the flames of conflict—flames that destroy not only the people inside the conflict but the whole institution as well.

Image taken from ~Aphrodite on Flickr. Some rights reserved.