SMC will always be bigger than PBA

By Al S. Mendoza

 

I WASN’T glad with PBA Commissioner Chito Salud’s decision banning Renaldo Balkman for life in the Philippine Basketball Association.

While I strongly condemn and will never condone Balkman’s beastly act of berating referees, arguing uncontrollably with his teammates and coaches and next choking his teammate Arwind Santos in full view of the public, Balkman does not deserve to be given the extreme punishment.

Look, didn’t his own teammates, his coaches and his employers at San Miguel Corporation (SMC), the owner of Petron which hired the mercurial import, forgive Balkman?

With that total forgiveness alone coming from Balkman’s own camp, it should have been enough reason for Salud to also pardon the former New York Knick.

But no, Salud kicked Balkman out of the league and, on top of that, the commissioner fined Balkman P250,000.

Again, this is not to tolerate conduct unbecoming on the hard court but, hey, we all commit mistakes because, well, we are only humans, right?

The question is, was there anyone seriously hurt when Balkman lost his cool?

None.  Santos immediately forgave Balkman even before the game between Petron and Alaska that night could be completed.

Well, no doubt, the league, in a sense, was hurt.  An import making a mockery of the PBA with a kid-like tantrum is ugly.  But was that enough reason to give the boot on Balkman?

By meting him the maximum penalty of banishment from the league, Balkman was denied the main rule of Christian living:  forgiving is better than punishing.

Profusely, Balkman had asked for forgiveness.  Everybody accepted his apology—except Salud.

Didn’t Jesus Christ forgive the criminal beside him on the cross in the Calvary?

Also smashed in this case is the saying, “everybody deserves a second chance.”

By denying Balkman forgiveness, the Puerto Rican was denied his right to redeem himself.

The cruelest part is, he didn’t actually hurt anyone.

But even as I was unhappy with the way Salud handled the case, I am happy, though, that San Miguel Corporation didn’t push through with its perceived threat to bolt the league.

I’m sure Ramon S. Ang, RSA to those dear to him, saw the wisdom behind the turnaround as leaving the PBA would have meant an illogical reaction to an already bad decision from the commissioner’s office.

The SMC, aside from being the only remaining co-founder of the PBA, is very much bigger than the league that one adverse judgment coming its way does not even amount to a slap in the wrist.

Happily, RSA, the esteemed president and COO of SMC, saw through that.

For, if truth be told, SMC’s stature towers above all, including the PBA.

No one, not even the PBA in its totality, can ever hurt SMC.  Any punch aimed at SMC’s way will only boomerang to the deliverer of that punch.

In the spirit of Lent, let’s forgive Balkman.  And also Commissioner Salud, please?

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