‘Slippery slope’ of addiction of Fil-foreign athlete
LET me be clear from the get-go. I love the Philippines. I always have; from the day I first arrived in 2006 as CEO of Procter and Gamble. I believe in sports as a nation-building tool. So, I strongly support and endorse efforts for Filipino teams and athletes to win on the global stage. I cried for joy when Hidilyn Diaz won Gold in Tokyo; and I cried for joy when EJ Obiena won Silver in last year’s World Championships in athletics. I hence fully support reaching into the wide diaspora of Filipinos to find and recruit talent. No issue at all.
What I have an issue with is when a particular team or NSA goes headover-heels down a path of over-recruiting the Fil-foreign athlete. It is an alluring narcotic admittedly. … One can camp on the internet and poach a Fil-heritage athlete living in the US, having been coached and provided the best in facilities. You toss them a passport, and instantly you have maybe a SEA Games Champion! It’s easy and it’s fast and like an opioid it feels good and is fast-acting!
But I would argue overdoing it, as some are doing, is the proverbial slippery slope. It won’t deliver what we all target, which is Olympic success. And the approach of chasing pell-mell after Fil-foreign athletes raises several moral quandaries.
Let me dive into this by asking a few simple questions.
First, if these athletes are so great, why aren’t they representing the US or UK or whichever country they call “home”?
This is a painful truth that many simply want to ignore. So, allow me to answer it. Here is the answer — THEY AREN’T GOOD ENOUGH. If any of these athletes were top tier in their home country, they would stay there. It’s home. It’s more financially lucrative to play for a US team than a corresponding Filipino one. It’s better facilities. It’s a no-brainer. No, they play for the Philippines because it’s a means to “stay in the game” because it’s the only option they have to pursue a dream or riches in sports. So, in simple terms, the Philippines ends up taking another country’s second tier. The “B” team. And this isn’t going to get anyone to an Olympic medal. Sure, they may qualify for the Olympics, barely slipping in. But then what happens? It’s an early exit which was virtually 100 percent guaranteed and predictable going in. If you can’t make the US or a European national team, you aren’t going to vie for an Olympic medal against 180 countries! I am sorry to be blunt. But this is fact.
The bigger point is, the NSAs must decide firstly on their goals. When I was involved in helping Patafa I was adamant the focus should be on the Olympics and nothing else. Because, if you develop people for the Olympics as we have done with EJ Obiena, well you win everything else from SEA Games to Asian Games! But, when you aim for the SEA Games, you develop mediocrity, and you end up celebrating “Olympic participation” and getting your ass kicked; as opposed to winning like Filipinos are capable of. Honest and painful — at least in athletics, the SEA Games is nothing more than a high-quality USA Regional High School meet in terms of performances. That’s the level of average competition. You aren’t going to win Olympic medals aiming to this level. We must think big. Olympics and Olympic competitiveness! Versus being happy in just going, spending huge money, and getting creamed in the opening heats!