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Hanging the Jester
By: Atty. Toby Pavon
UAAP Season 89 started off with one the most exciting innovations in all history of UAAP, not one, but TWO Centel pages were created.
For those who aren’t terminally online, “Centel” refers to a parody page derived from “NBA Centel” that tried to get as close as possible to “NBA Central” while posting the most believably unbelievable reports about the NBA for sh*ts and giggles. The humor is that it would intentionally post knowingly false stories about real people. They got so good at making believably unbelievable posts that people started believing that their stories were true, some of which even reaching mainstream media. Hence “Centel-ed” was born.
UAAP Centel on Twitter and Facebook started only this season and people were eager to see what kind of debauchery their page-runners would come up with. Twitter version started pumping out fake quotes like a D&D Dungeon Master trying to fill in the bookshelves of his homebrew world’s library, while Facebook version started pumping out memes based on tropes and labelling players one of the tropes based on their performance… basically an extension of the UAAP memes page.
Whichever floated whosever’s boats, they were parody pages being silly and obviously for entertainment. Is it at the student-athlete’s expense? Sometimes, sure. For the most part it has been commentary on their performance, with the really mean-spirited posts directed at institutions and the adults involved.
So color us surprised when the Facebook version posted about receiving threats of lawsuits from alleged individuals who weren’t happy with their posts about certain players:
It’s not the first time a meme page, blog, entity that talks about public events, has been threatened with legal action. (Heck the entire UAAP media landscape was threatened with legal action over copyrights issues before). But let’s look into the threats and see which ones to actually worry about:
Cyberbullying
Many of you are probably asking right now, “Is this a case of cyberbullying?”
Yes, probably.
The more appropriate question to be asking is, “Is cyberbullying a crime?”
No it’s not. But you still shouldn’t do it.
The definition of cyberbullying can be found in R.A. 10627 or the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013. It reads:
SEC. 2. Acts of Bullying . – For purposes of this Act, “bullying” shall refer to any severe or repeated use by one or more students of a written, verbal or electronic expression, or a physical act or gesture, or any combination thereof, directed at another student that has the effect of actually causing or placing the latter in reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm or damage to his property; creating a hostile environment at school for the other student; infringing on the rights of the other student at school; or materially and substantially disrupting the education process or the orderly operation of a school; such as, but not limited to, the following:
d. Cyber-bullying or any bullying done through the use of technology or any electronic means.
As can be seen, bullying and cyber-bullying has a limited scope of application. It refers to acts done among students, meaning a classroom setting. So it would only be considered bullying (legally) if it was done by and to students, usually of the same school.
Furthermore, the legal maxim nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege is applicable in this situation. The anti-bullying act does not prescribe penalties for students who commit bullying. Instead, it mandates that learning institutions adopt anti-bullying policies and punishes the institutions for failing to comply.
That being said, cyber-bullying is not a crime that you can accuse a random stranger of committing. The law that defines it was made to mandate schools to adopt anti-bullying measures to address it within their institutions.
Even if it’s not a crime per se, the only bullying that should be seen in the UAAP is when a big gets a mismatched small defender in the post, with its cyber-bullying counterpart being done in the e-Sports tournaments.
Cyber-libel
Another common threat to these meme pages is to file cyber-libel cases against them. Spoiler: Cyber-libel is indeed a crime.
Is this a case of cyber-libel?
In my professional opinion, I don’t think so.
The crime of libel has five elements:
- (a) imputation of a discreditable act or condition to another;
- (b) publication of the imputation;
- (c) identity of the person defamed; and,
- (d) existence of malice
Imputation of a discreditable act or condition to another means to claim that a person has done a crime or that he has done something shameful (different from claiming what he has done is shameful). In layman’s terms, it’s an accusation or statement that the person committed a crime, like maybe theft, plunder, murder or many of the other crimes we love to accuse everyone of doing. Or, an accusation that the person is something (meant to be) shameful, usually it’s in the form of saying they are harlots, nepobabies, cronies, or the like.
Being the endorser of a construction materials brand is hardly a crime or something shameful (outside of the context of basketball). Stating that someone did cardio during a game may be in a negative remark, but it’s not a shameful imputation.
Just because it’s a negative remark, doesn’t mean it’s libel. Just because people find it funny, doesn’t mean it’s libel.
We focus on the first element because that’s the most contentious in these posts. They’re memes. They highlight poor performance with humor. So far they’ve stayed away from low blow comments and memes, focusing more on game performance, a matter that everyone will have an opinion about.
It’s true, these meme pages will offend many with its choices on what to comment on, but that’s what they are at the end of the day, commentary, opinions, the thoughts of people expressed in a way that is baked into comedy and satire.
Satire and humor have long been tools for mankind to speak truth to power (not saying that’s what is happening here). The court jesters of old used humor to say what most would be able to say. The importance of which is the introduction of a counter point, a different perspective to consider.
These pages are the jesters of the internet, using humor to speak their minds. Threats of libel are like the monarchs of old losing their temper, calling for the hanging of their jesters. In the old times, it was often a bad sign when the king called for the hanging of the jester. The memes these pages make might be low stakes, but creating a environment where the reaction to disagreement is disagreement, not threats of violence or law suits, is paramount.
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HumbleBlog #9 — Calm as a Bomb
Hey Toby,
Man, how do I even begin to talk about the current landscape of the Men’s Basketball Tournament in UAAP Season 89? I guess it would be best to look at the standings first?
The NU Bulldogs and the UP Fighting Maroons have separated (using this term extremely loosely) themselves from the pack by going 5-2. NU’s standout rookie Macmac Alfanta delivered a team-high 14-point performance to stun the FEU Tamaraws yesterday, ultimately winning their round 1 matchup, 69-65.
As for last season’s runner-ups, they found themselves in dire straits against the cellar-dwelling UE Red Warriors on Saturday, October 17, for much of the contest, as UE led by as many as 10 points. But, as we’ve come to know from this version of the Fighting Maroons, their overwhelming talent will somehow emerge and win them the day, which was where former San Beda Red Lion and NCAA Season 99 Finals MVP James Payosing turned in a 16-point performance.
Nos. 3-7 is where it gets interesting. In the main event of Saturday’s matchups at the UST QPav, the UST Growling Tigers and Ateneo Blue Eagles duked it out. It seemed as if it would be a grit-and-grind matchup all the way to the final buzzer since no one could pull away convincingly. Then the third quarter happened, where UST made 11/21 field goal attempts (5-of-11 from deep), while Ateneo only made one in 14 tries. That 20-0 run pretty much ended the Blue Eagles’ hopes of a winning record to close out the first round, as UST won, 80-68.
Meanwhile, Adamson continued to prove that preseason predictions are as finnicky as they come, when they dueled the DLSU Green Archers in yesterday’s marquee matchup. Let’s address the elephant in the room: that damned shot clock. Whenever it seemed as if either side was going to start building significant momentum, the 24-second shot clock would just decide that its job was done for the day and not count down. So much officials’ stoppage just to sort out the clock wore down both sides, with fans audibly voicing their frustration at the situation. No idea what happened there, but it’s got to be fixed sooner rather than later.
Anywho, back to the game. DLSU (hugely because of the shot clock sitch) played uncharacteristically undisciplined defense, as Adamson kept drawing fouls that were in the act of shooting. They did make a comeback (as the reigning kings of the UAAP were expected to do) and tied the game up. That was until Matty Erolon decided to break the 58-all deadlock with 30 seconds to spare with a straight-away devil-may-care three (which was Adamson’s lone three-point make in the fourth). Henry Agunnane made a nice layup, but Manu Anabo’s two made free throws practically sealed the game, giving Adamson a 63-60 victory and a 4-3 record — tied with UST and FEU.If you’re seeing how the entire tournament is shaping up to be as I am, it feels like a time bomb that’s waiting to explode. Like, sure, the race for the Final Four is extremely tight now, and all six teams (sorry again, UE) have a shot at earning a twice-to-beat advantage.
However, I have a feeling that this will be the first time in the Final Four era that a twice-to-beat team’s record will be at 9-5. Trust me, I did the research, and I went all the way back to Season 56 (AB History degree doing its work) to see if there had ever been a time when 9-5 was the best record in the league.
It’s never happened before.
If we apply UAAP math (thanks to the klasmeyt Flever Dignadice for the term) to the situation, there’s all reason to believe that any one of them ends up in either the 1 or 2 spot. Season 89 feels like, for the first time in a very long time, I have no idea who will make it to the Final Four.
You and I both know how long we (and many other hoop fans) have been hoping for parity in the UAAP, and now we finally get it. I am hoping and will always be supporting the Blue Eagles (malamang, that’s my alma mater) in their campaign to make it back in the Final Four. But unlike previous seasons, I won’t feel so bad if they don’t make it. The field is as level as it has ever been. You can make so many permutations of the good ol’ “X beat Y, Y beat A, A beat B. While X never beat B in round one, B lost to Y. By transitive property of UAAP math, X holds a win over B.”
It’s stupid, it’s light-hearted, none of it should make sense — and yet in the microcosm of the UAAP, it does. It’s everything that the UAAP stands for as a whole. Speaking as a 16-year watcher of the UAAP, fan of college hoops, and undying supporter of showing school spirit, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Round 2 begins on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. For travel reasons, I obviously won’t be there, but the games are at the Blue Eagle Gym this weekend.
See you (and the entire UAAP community) then.
Mister-I-Only-Make-Threes-When-It’s-For-The-Game-In-Papawis-Setups,
Karl
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HumbleBlog #8 — The Black Box
Hi Karl,
It’s been a crazy week of UAAP action yet again, but amidst the rollercoaster of reactions and overreactions, two things have been consistent, FEU looking like a strong contender and UE still trying to win a game.
Round 1 is almost over and FEU is looking primed to take the first seed with strong performances strung together after losing in the season opener, but their loss to UST serves as a reminder that the ball is round and the power levels of these teams are so close. Last year’s finalists are putting up big games too, but have been showing signs of trouble, losing to teams they wouldn’t normally have lost to, but then getting big wins over teams that they would consider rivals (UP won against DLSU and Adamson while DLSU won against Ateneo).
Speaking of rivalries, there are sparks flying over at the women’s tournament. Defending champions UST Golden Tigresses held a commanding 90-66 win over their opponents in the previous finals, the NU Lady Bulldogs, sending the message that taking the crown away from them won’t be easy. However, what should have been an exciting encounter was marred by a post-match incident between assistant coaches. Reports say NU’s Paul Du made contact with UST’s Arsenio Dysanco during the post-game handshake, leaving Dysanco on the floor, requiring medical assistance.
While it’s fun to see rivalries of this magnitude, afterall, it was UST that broke NU’s historic stranglehold on the women’s basketball tournament that lasted 7 seasons. Now these teams have been duking it out in the finals for the past 3 championships. But hopefully the rivalry and competitiveness stays on the court where it belongs.
Although, I don’t know if you’ve noticed lately, there’s a certain noise that’s been missing amidst all the things going on. It was around this point in the season last year that we were meeting Commissioner Jai Reyes as he explained to us how the referees we being scrutinized amidst outcry from the audience and some of the coaches as well (especially from then UE Coach Gavina). Somehow the reaction to the officiating has been mostly tempered. Credit to the referees? The Commissioner’s office? Maybe the fans have just gotten used to how the games are called.
Whatever case it may be, the fact that forums aren’t full of complaints about wrong or missed calls, the coaches aren’t making snarky remarks about officiating and nobody has gone off on an expletive-laden tirade means something is working. Except maybe in the Adamson-UP game where the final sequence left people begging for answers (It’s always the Adamson-UP games). Commissioner Reyes hasn’t lifted his foot off the pedal when it comes to the FIBA-fication of the UAAP. At the start of the season, the Commissioner’s office took time to announce that the officials will expand the application of the FIBA rules with the emphasis on bench decorum.
We’ve already seen the effects of this. Coach Louie Alas was suspended for their game against FEU after being meted an additional technical foul after their game against DLSU. The kicker is that Coach Alas didn’t even have to commit the violatio to suffer the penalty. According to reports, it was assistant Kerby Reymundo who was called for the technical after taunting DLSU’s Marasigan. However, according to FIBA rules:
“36.2.2. A technical fould by any person permitted to sit on the team bench is a category 1 foul for disrespectfully communicating with or touching the referees, the commissioner, if present, the table officials or the opponents, or an infraction of a procedural or an administrative nature.
36.3.1. If a technical foul is committed:
xxx
By any person permitted to sit on the team bench, a category 1 technical foul shall be charged against the head coach and shall not count as one of the team fouls.”
So even if Coach Alas had nothing to do with the infraction, the penalty was charged against him. Fans will have their opinions about the “common sense” of the rule, but as an organization trying to do the impossible (call games at 100% accuracy), this kind of being a stickler for the process and the rules is all they have.
It’s similar to how the aviation industry has its protocol in place for every flight. Most people have a fear of flying and would rather take land transportation than a commercial airplane, yet flying commercial is one of the safest modes of transportation. According to studies, dying in a plane crash is a 1 in 11 million chance, while for cars it’s 1 in 5000. Yet few are hesitant to get into their cars or book a Grab to where they want to go, while more would need a whole comfort routine for takeoff and landing.
What keeps the aviation industry so safe is its attitude toward safety. Any time anything disastrous happens, everyone is placed on alert, protocols reviewed, decisions audited and heads that need to roll are sent to the nearest metaphorical chopping block. Unfortunately, despite their safety records, no person can guarantee 100% safety on a flight. The best they can do is come close, or keep trying. So it’s the images of plane crashes, catastrophic malfunctions and a whole plethora of other mishaps that get burned into our heads. All the successful flights don’t get noticed. It’s only when something goes wrong that people lose their shoes, and for good reason (because it often results in massive loss of life).
Similarly, that’s what having to referee anything is like. All the correct calls are ignored or forgotten. It’s the disastrously wrong ones that get called out and used as a reflection of the quality in general, and for not as good reason (nobody lost their life).
Much like the aviation industry that reviews its disasters through the data collected in their black boxes, the same is being done with UAAP referees. Last season, the Commissioner’s Office revealed the first round had a call accuracy of 92.5% for the men’s tournament, with on average meant 8.5 missed calls per game. This is useful data, that I frankly wish they would make more public, because it helps keep expectations in check.
The UAAP doesn’t wait for a catastrophic event to occur before reviewing and auditing their referees. Just because they dealt with the officials who ruled Erolon’s three a two last season, doesn’t mean there isn’t a chance it might happen again, but they should at least try, and trying they are, to come as close to 100% as they possibly can. However, one big pain point to this process is how it can sometimes leave stakeholders in the dark.
At the end of the Adamson-UP game, all Coach Nash wanted was a confirmation if there was a whistle before the time expired. Instead, the three game officials turned toward the scorer’s table, took off their microphones and exited the game floor. It took a table official explaining what the call was (none) before even the game announcer was sure that the game was over and the end-game rituals could begin.
Perhaps this was the protocol set by FIBA and the officials are just following it to the tee. But the frustrating part is, just like a black box, nobody would know for sure unless the Commissioner’s Office releases a clarification, or releases the data. Even after releasing the call-accuracy data after the first round last season, they declined to do the same again at the end of the season.
They have their reasons, and as fans we can only trust that it’s for the best.
While the process existing is definitely great, it doesn’t stop fans, coaches and athletes from expressing frustration when the communication side isn’t handled as gracefully as they’d want, especially in a high stress situation like sports.
The black box of basketball officiating will continue to work toward better officiated games, but we’ll just have to trust that it’s doing the work.
It’s Ateneo against UST at Q Pav on Saturday, feels like an intense matchup. I might need to get another prescription from the Doc for my blood pressure medication before I watch it.
See you at the games.
Yours,
Toby
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HumbleBlog #7— A New Appreciation
Hey Karl!
The season is still pretty young but it has been exciting as all hell.
First off, it seems like the field for Men’s basketball has been level for the first time in a while. No team is undefeated, and though the UE Red Warriors are still winless, they showed some flashes of potential when they faced the UST Growling Tigers.
Have you also heard what happened to women’s football? FEU and UP accumulated a total of SIX red cards during their match. The Fighting Maroons’ starting AND backup keeper were both booked, forcing them to have a makeshift keeper between the sticks vs Ateneo.
But I guess I am writing to you guys because I have to tell you something.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL IS AWESOME.
I have been out of the loop when it comes to women’s basketball in general for a long time. When I started watching, it was players like Lisa Leslie, Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird, and Diana Taurasi plying their trade in the WNBA. In the UAAP, it was a clash of two former MVPs in Cassy Tioseco of Ateneo vs Ewon Arayi of Adamson.
After that, I have heard of few players who have really made their mark in the game. I started following a bit more when our good friend Ged Austria became assistant coach for the UST Growling Tigresses.
Then one decision changed my life forever.
Last season, we just decided on a whim to cover the game between the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the UST Growling Tigresses. After all, Ateneo is our alma mater and Ged was coaching.
This was the game that made us decide to cover the women’s tournament more extensively.
Because of this, our photography skills sharpened, we met some great people, and our appreciation for the game became deeper. I am not here to compare and contrast the men’s and women’s games but let me say, both offer different kinds of excitement as a basketball fan.
It was also because of that one fateful day that I decided that I wanted to serve the Ateneo Blue Eagles as their in-house physician (I still have to get used to be called their team doctor). Luckily, Coaches PJ Navarro and Zoe Chu took me in and the girls welcomed me as part of the team.
The season is still quite young so I know I will be able to experience more as part of the staff, and I will tell you more about it after the season ends. But because of this, I have seen the ins and outs of how a collegiate team prepares for every game. I have seen how hard these athletes work on the court, and still balance their academics with it. It gave me a new appreciation for the UAAP and the game that we love.
We face the NU Lady Bulldogs next and even though I will be out of the country for that game, I am damn sure supporting them. (Editor’s note: NU Lady Bulldogs won 87-77)
Your boy,
Dr. Eriko
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HumbleBlog #6 — Justice for Divine and Rene
Hi Karl,
During the season opener of the Ateneo Blue Eagles, a lot of buzz circled around the attendance of Divine Adili’s parents, as well as the mother of Rene Bartebonia. Our astute photographers (@docpapicture and @mambito_shots) captured emotional moments of Divine’s parents sharing a somber smile as they remembered their son through the sport he played. It was a heart warming moment, for the Ateneo community, yet I noticed something a bit off. In the comments of our post, several Facebook users commented, “Justice for Divine and Rene.” which gave me pause.
As a lawyer by profession, I deal with questions of justice on a daily basis. Those comments made me wonder, what kind of justice are they after? In my line of work, justice is about the righting of wrongs. Justice comes in many forms, most directly through punishment from the justice system, sometimes justice comes through indirect means. However it comes, justice is only the first step toward healing for the victims and their loved ones.
Divine and Rene, their parents, their loved ones, do deserve justice.
But what is this in our comment section about a “Attention sa mga pumatay kay Rene” and “Sila ang mga player na sangkot sa pagkamatay ni Rene at Divine”. Some even commented “Mga hudas ng admu..” in a post featuring the photos of the Ateneo players.
Are they saying it was the players who intentionally caused the deaths of Divine and Rene? Based on what?
In all reports that emerged regarding the tragedy, the student-athletes, Jared, Kieffer, all of them, had no part in planning the activity in Aurora. They were there to train. The people responsible, the person ultimately responsible for the training activity and who should have been looking out for their safety are Tab Baldwin and his coaching staff.
Charges have been filed against Tab and the others involved in the tragedy. The process is moving. Are the commenters saying the authorities have the wrong people under investigation?
Seeking punishment for those who have done wrong is a form of justice. But for it to be justice, the persons punished should be the people who did the wrong. Seeking punishment, retribution, vengeance against persons who were not responsible for the wrongdoing, is not justice. It’s bloodlust. Violence for violence sake.
Understandably, Rene Bartebonia’s mother continues to call for justice for her son’s death. After all, the wheels of justice are still turning, and there can be no peace without justice. The same way justice must be served for the many wrongs that people in our country suffered in the past. Be it the abuses of Martial Law, extrajudicial killings or the straight up plundering of public resources for personal gain, there will be no justice until the people responsible are brought to justice, there can be no healing or moving on until justice is finally attained.
And maybe justice is still far from reach, but what’s certain is that it will not be reached by grasping at the wrong people. There are no indications that the players of Ateneo were responsible for the deaths of Divine and Rene, yet somehow they have been turned into scapegoats by these Facebook commenters. Proxy targets for a class war between the haves and have-nots? Maybe. But if calling for justice is their goal, this is not going to achieve it. If they have a different motive, they’re probably being very effective at it right now.
It’s bizarre how these commenters are acting. It’s one thing to have a rabid fanbase overreact to every win and loss, but this, this has nothing to do with basketball, and by the looks of it, nothing to do with justice either.
In any case, I do hope for justice, not just for Divine and Rene, but for everyone that was failed by the system.
No basketball this time. Some things are just lifer than ball.
See you on the court.
Yours,
Toby Pavon
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