Fair Play: UAAP rule robs Cebuano star of choice

THERE are some things I don't like in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi), particularly on how the league is slow to react to the times.

But this I have to say, I'm so glad--go-break-out-the-bar-and-party-all-night-glad--that the Cesafi isn't as backwards as the UAAP.


Leagues like the Cesafi and UAAP have residency rules, put up to fight player piracy though I think a two-year requirement is overdoing it.  Cesafi, like the UAAP, has the same rules for high school players, again, another stupid one because it robs student-athletes of a chance if he ever he decides to transfer schools for reasons other than sports.

But get this, unlike the Cesafi, the UAAP considers graduating high school students as transferees, so if an FEU student finishes high school, his choice of college is limited to FEU.  If he wants to, say, take up college in Ateneo de Manila, he'll have to abide by the residency rule as he is considered a transferee.

Spin.ph reported. “The new rule is expected to have a big impact on Pingoy who, according to his father, is leaning toward moving to Ateneo when he finishes his high school studies at FEU...If Pingoy transfers to Ateneo, he will only be eligible to play for the Blue Eagles in 2015.”

And that is crap. Twelve-year-olds shouldn't be made to choose their colleges because that's essentially what the
new UAAP rule--adopted just this week--does.  For marquee players who are sure to be picked up by the pros, that may not be a problem.  But what about other athletes in other sports? Athletes who want the best education for a career after sports?  

Pingoy, a Cebuano, should challenge this rule.  He should just choose his college and if the UAAP bars him from playing, fight this rule as a a graduating high school student should never be considered a “transferee.” 

The UAAP, it seems, has forgotten it’s a league for student-athletes, majority of whom are using a college scholarship to get a career. Pray, do tell, what’s the percentage of UAAP athletes who turn pro?

This is a questionable move from a board out that it seems is only out to protect its own interests only—the students be damned.

A shameful move.

One that should be removed.