‘…Is winning so important that one will win at any cost? Including cheating your way to victory?’
TWO days ago, I had lunch with former UAAP, PBA and Gilas basketball star Chris Tiu, now a full-time businessman, husband, and father.
The lunch was a pitch by two good friends from the sports media world – June Navarro and Waylon Galvez – for the establishment of a sports foundation that will focus on grassroots development. June and Waylon are right – there is so much focus on elite athletes and “sexy” sports (meaning those with considerable public following) that so many other young budding athletes with so much potential get looked over and ignored.
While we are focused, for example, on basketball, volleyball and football – and now tennis – did we even notice that our kickboxing athletes are winning gold medals in regional sporting meets, June asked.
Indeed, we have thousands of potential Olympians out there who compete in many regional and even national sporting events annually. Yet only a handful can find that all-important sponsor who will help expose them to competition at a regional or international level, the only way a Filipino athlete can elevate his or her game and become a medalist in the Southeast Asian or Asian Games, or the Olympics. Without their training abroad, would the names “Carlos Yulo”, “EJ Obiena” and also “Alexandra Eala” ring a bell?
The sports foundation that June and Waylon are so passionate about seeks to somehow fill in part of the gap or the void that exists.
For the most part, Christ sat there, avidly listening to the pitch, asking a few questions here and there on matters he needed more clarification on. And then near the end of lunch, he said a few words, the first part of which was music to the ears of June and Waylon, but the second part of which was so laden with timely wisdom.
“I’m in,” Chris intoned, adding a few suggestions on the potential composition of the foundation board and the need to be transparent with the funding that will be raised and spent by the foundation.
Then he added: “I believe we should also focus on values formation and character building because this is just as important as winning. In fact, the values one learns through sports and the character one builds become very valuable in life, in sports as well as outside.”
Indeed. When we think of our society and enumerate, as we often love to do, the reasons behind our criticisms, they really boil down to a question of values. Of principles. And yes, of character. And of the latter, here is one that is relevant these days: Is winning so important that one will win at any cost? Including cheating your way to victory? Think about it, as it is true in sports but seemingly more in politics: winning at any cost has become the norm.
A society is an amalgamation of layers upon layers of relationships that, ideally, are anchored on trust. Trust in the rules that are put in place to govern human relations, trust in those on whose shoulders rest the responsibility of making the system work and work properly. Whether it’s a sports league or a political process like elections, the results are irrelevant if they are not credible, and they are only credible when those who competed did so according to the rules of the game.
Which is why making values and character formation one of the two legs of the sports foundation that Waylon and June are putting together – the other being skills development – will truly make for a holistic program. Ambitious, yes, but really with a shot.
Thanks for the insight, Chris!
