Why not a medical redshirt?

Instead of the NCAA Management Committee and UAAP Board of Trustees deciding on game-related issues, such as suspensions, and making a mockery of their appointed Commissioners’ authority, why not do something positive for a change?

In the NCAA, there is a Policy Board composed of presidents of member-schools. Under the Policy Board is the Management Committee made up of athletic directors. A Commissioner is appointed on a year-to-year basis to run the league. In the UAAP, the Board of Trustees is composed of representatives of member-schools, most of whom are athletic directors. Like the NCAA, the UAAP contracts a Commissioner every season.

The delineation of functions is critical in assuring fair judgment on issues without partisan interests. The NCAA’s Policy Board is concerned with the acceptance, removal or suspension of member-schools. The Management Committee has discretion to rule on player suspensions and game protests. The UAAP Board, on paper, is not accountable to a higher body as no Policy Board exists in the league. Like in the NCAA, it also has authority to rule on player suspensions and game protests. In effect, the Commissioners of both leagues are lameducks – their decisions are never final and always subject to approval of the Management Committee in the NCAA and the Board in the UAAP. The Commissioners act as glorified but powerless executives. It’s a shame that NCAA Commissioner Joe Lipa and UAAP Commissioner Chito Loyzaga are treated like puppets. They deserve respect for what they stand for.

Unfortunately, when game-related issues reach the NCAA Management Committee and the UAAP Board, decisions are prone to be made based on vested interests. Horse-trading, retaliatory tactics, shadow alliances and gerrymandering are common trade practices. It’s often a you-scratch-my-back-and-I’ll scratch-yours situation when an issue comes to a vote. Who cares about due process? Who cares about fairness? Aren’t UAAP and NCAA students taken aback by the highly-partisan actions of school officials who profess to be educators of high standards? Some decisions are made in complete disregard of human rights. So far, TROs have been issued to question the fairness of two recent UAAP decisions. The scuttlebutt is more are coming. Legislators are beginning to notice the stink. Sooner or later, exposes will reveal hidden agendas and questionable motives of certain member-school representatives.

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If only the NCAA Management Committee and UAAP Board are committed to making a positive contribution to the welfare of student-athletes, there wouldn’t be suspicions of backroom haggling and unholy alliances. They should leave their Commissioners to function independently for the good of the leagues. That’s what they’re there for – not to be overruled but to be upheld. Surely, the Commissioners were hired for reasons that they’re competent, respected and their integrity is beyond doubt.

One issue the NCAA and UAAP might want to tackle is to explore ways for each school to encourage student-athletes to finish their education beyond varsity eligibility. Wouldn’t it be a positive contribution if all schools agree to extend scholarships to student-athletes to pursue courses after their playing years? The presumption is student-athletes usually forego course preferences to choose “light” subjects so they’re not overly challenged in the classroom while fulfilling their sports obligations.

Wouldn’t it also be a positive contribution if the NCAA and UAAP enact a medical redshirt rule? As it is, an athlete who suffers an injury early in the season and is unable to play the rest of the way loses that one year of eligibility. In the case of a graduating athlete, the situation is painful because he isn’t able to end his college career on the active roster. A graduating athlete usually hopes for a blazing finish to enhance his chances of being drafted in the pros if he is a basketball player.

UST’s Jeric Teng injured his shoulder in his third game of the current UAAP season. He opened the year by scoring 23 points in 43 minutes in the Tigers’ 63-58 overtime win over La Salle. Then, Teng hit 15 in 33 minutes as UST beat Adamson, 67-62. Teng went down after notching seven points in 17 minutes in UST’s 71-67 loss to NU. He refused surgery to repair a partially torn shoulder muscle because it would’ve meant the end of his senior season. Instead, he opted for therapy. Luckily, the UAAP break caused by the FIBA-Asia Championships extended Teng’s period of recovery without eating into UST’s schedule. He sat out five games then came back to score two points in 10 minutes in a loss to NU. This time, Teng went down with a hamstring injury. He missed the next game then was reactivated again.

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In the US NCAA, a student-athlete who suffers a season-ending injury in 30 percent or less of his school’s games in the first half of the campaign is granted a medical hardship waiver. That means the year will not be counted against his eligibility. He will be considered a medical redshirt. In Teng’s case, he played only 21 percent of UST’s games when he suffered the shoulder injury. Maybe, he would’ve opted for surgery, a more permanent treatment, instead of therapy if the UAAP didn’t take the year against his eligibility. He could’ve returned the next year and extended his stay with the Tigers.

Writer John Infante, in a discussion on medical hardship requirements, warned student-athletes to be serious in recognizing injuries. “If you think you might be seriously hurt, it is better to know your options than to try and keep playing and potentially lose a season you could have gotten back,” he said. “On the flip side, be careful about trying to nurse a minor injury to get a season back since it might backfire.” Infante spoke in US NCAA terms. He meant if a student-athlete goes down with only 30 percent of the calendar done in the first half of the season, he should be guided by doctors in deciding whether or not to continue playing or sit out. In the Philippines, the lack of a medical redshirt rule could force an injured graduating player to stay active if only to save his season – a dangerous risk.

Before a student-athlete is declared a medical redshirt, his or her injury must be proved to be incapacitating or season-ending. This must be established by proper documentation. “The medical documentation needs to show that an athlete was unable to return to competition for the rest of the season,” said Infante. “If an athlete is missing appointments, not following the rehab program or not getting evaluated as scheduled, it is harder for the school to prove the injury was season-ending.”

So many issues could be discussed to enhance the future of student-athletes. If only the NCAA and UAAP leave game-related issues to be settled by their Commissioners, maybe they’ll refocus to finally do something positive. The negativism, petty politics, backstabbing and hatchet jobs must stop to preserve the integrity of the country’s top two varsity leagues.