Between slavers and molesters

Some time ago, an acquaintance from the “gay community” shared his concern about predators operating within the “high school and collegiate level” basketball community.

He was obviously very disturbed about what he called a “long on-going practice” among a known group of homosexual predators who prey on poor, hungry and ignorant athletes who find themselves recruited as basketball players but end up being the equivalent of street prostitutes needing to sell their bodies to survive.

At a time when most people think of athletic programs as profitable and glamorous, it would seem unthinkable that such “stories” would be possible. Unfortunately they are!

The disgusting truth behind the slavers and molesters start with the recruitment of basketball players all over the Philippines who could play for a variety of high schools, private colleges and universities. It all starts with a dream and often end in nightmares.

Players are offered their future on a silver platter. Scholarships to high school and college, living allowance, free dormitory and the dream of all dreams to someday play in the pro league. Who could ever say no?

As expected everything happens so fast, just as fast as when they recruit women in poverty just to be turned into prostitutes. In both cases, the parents are often only too eager to send off their beloved son or their potential meal ticket.

If the parents or the player were well off or at least educated, we would be discussing terms, conditions, guarantees and contracts. They would probably even be consulting a lawyer or even just some knowledgeable person.

Because the players are minors, we need the consent of parents or a guardian to “contract” the players. But what value is the parental consent of illiterate parents or people who have no idea or understanding of contractual obligations or rights?

So we have MINORS and parents who in effect are exploited from the very beginning. I wonder how quickly my friends Mike Enriquez and Ted Failon will investigate how many athletes fall under this category: exploited minors. If I’m correct the exploitation of minors and illiterate parents could qualify under child abuse.

But let’s not stop there.

Once the player gets into the minor and major leagues for high school and collegiate leagues, they are placed under the “legal guardianship” of a basketball coach or someone in the coaching staff.

Imagine being handed over to someone whose primary goal or obsession is basketball and not the upbringing of a minor? Imagine being under the care or control of a person who has absolute power to decide if he likes you, if you get to play, if you continue to have a scholarship and if you get to have a life.

Since not all schools and universities are alike, it regularly happens that these “minors” don’t have “academic monitors”, managers or persons with real qualifications and responsibility to look after the recruits. In the real world of “palakasan” or favoritism, some get the breaks, the budget and the food. Others are “lucky” to be on the team with a varsity scholarship.

This is where the sexual predators step in. They befriend the ignorant, the deprived and the mistreated. They pretend to care, they provide for the minor’s needs and in exchange they ask for sexual favors.

Sorry to burst your bubble people, but this is not confined to the poor and the desperate. Even back in the late seventies I knew of Eagles and Archers who lived with flash and bling only to discover they were someone’s Ding-A-ling!

So from bright eyed kids with a bright future they end up exploited players and eventually someone’s “Boy Toy”. But the nightmare does not end there, to this day, there are even former players who live in fear because there are records or evidence of their molestation. In some cases, a number of players have been passed around and exchanged by these predators.

So you see, when some entertainment reporter tells us on the radio that some young star was “pinagsawaan” or communally devoured by sexual predators, they are in effect “sharing” their truth as my contacts have.

But which is worse, the sexual predators or the center of learning and their supposed learned leaders who use and abuse athletes. Wouldn’t our Senators want to know what happens to “athletic scholars” who receive serious injury before they play out their contract?

What happens to players who fall out of grace because the coach found someone better or simply decided they were not worth it? The “Minors” immediately learn what the term “Indian giver” means. Suddenly the school demands you to return in cash every centavo, every shoe, every jock strap as well as the scholarship you were suppose to get. Suddenly your freebie turns out to be dependent on the completion of your mission!

So now we have the walking wounded in our midst. No education, desperately seeking someone to bail them out or help them buy their freedom from a school and a coach ten times worse than the 5-6 money lender. We have exploited kids who once had a dream but now live with the curse of sexual molestation, broken words from dishonorable men and even the fear of having HIV.

Karen Carpenter sang us the song “Bless the Beast and the Children” and it was a wonderful and inspiring song for children and nature. In this case however, forgive me if I suggest that we hang and then shoot the beasts who have exploited and molested the children.

To Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Speaker Sonny Belmonte please do something about this. And to President “Noy”, Sir, if we do not bring retribution to the beast, then the curse upon our people remains.      

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