University of the East head coach Jerry Yee is seeking to appeal his temporary suspension handed by the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) following an accusation of ethical breach.

The Lady Warriors mentor cried foul over the decision of the league’s board to temporarily relieve him from his job, making him unable to coach the surging squad inside any of the game venues for the remainder of the season. 

“I think it’s uncalled for and parang walang due process. I mean, hindi naman ako nakunan ng side about this. And nagulat din ako eh. May ganito pa pala. ‘Yun nafi-feel ko, surprised,” Yee told reporters on Sunday, March 3. 

Yee, who was released by the Adamson Lady Falcons from his coaching duties in June last year, quickly regained his UAAP gig after signing with UE two weeks later. 

The UE mentor, though, maintained that there was no ethical breach that took place as his decision to part ways with the Adamson side was mutual all the way through. 

At the time of his appointment as the Lady Falcons’ head coach, Yee had his hands full as he was already with College of St. Benilde Lady Blazers in the NCAA. 

In his one-and-done coaching stint with Adamson, the squad reached the Final Four last season after a nine year wait.

The 49-year-old only found out about the decision on Friday afternoon, making the school unable to send over its appeal until Monday the following week. 

“I found out Friday afternoon, so probably strategies ‘yun or what. Basically patapos na ‘yung araw, ‘yung office. So appeal would be made probably Monday. Coach [Rod] Roque mentioned [it to me],” said Yee. 

Barely nine months at the helm, Yee had already made promising progress in the UE side, leading the team to its opening day win against Ateneo Blue Eagles for the first time in 14 years behind the brilliant effort of its super rookie Casiey Dongallo. 

With his supposed indefinite absence, assistant coach Obet Vital is set to take over in his place. 

Consequently, Yee and the school found it odd that the suspension came just as UE tackles Adamson on Sunday in the first round of the tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena. 

As of press time, the Lady Warriors and Lady Falcons share similar records of 1-2 in the standings. 

In a separate account, the UAAP formally released its statement about the decision to ultimately hand Yee a temporary suspension. 

“The decision follows a complaint raised by a member school against Coach Yee on account of conduct violative of the purposes of the UAAP - a platform for Member Universities to foster camaraderie and fair play,” the statement said. 

“After a thorough deliberation by the UAAP Board of Managing Directors (BMD), a recommendation was elevated to the Board of Trustees (BOT),” it added. 

There, the league said, on February 29, that the BOT and BMD findings concluded that Yee “had engaged in acts inconsistent with the league's objectives.”

“The UAAP, as an organization of educational institutions, prioritizes maintaining a close-knit relationship among its eight member schools through healthy competition and demands the highest ethical and professional standards from those expected to mold the student-athletes.”