The probe is so shrouded in complete mystery that though the entire nation already knows the name of the player in question, La Salle authorities have refused to identify him in keeping with a school policy that does not disclose the name of a student they claimed is being investigated for possible disciplinary action.
It’s as if the guy in question is being investigated for cheating in an exam, creating mayhem at the cafeteria or making an unwanted pass at a coed.
In fact, if the allegations against this person were true, he should not be considered a student at all and therefore not in the domain of La Salle to investigate.
But we can understand La Salle’s predicament. This player, who has been identified in text messages, Internet blogs and various sources as Mark Benitez, could possibly bring down an entire institution or tarnish that school irreparably.
No one knows were Benitez is. Everyone is looking for him and no one has seen his shadow since La Salle admitted that one of its players had forged his high school documents to gain a spot in the basketball team.
After Garcillano, Benitez has become the most sought-after personality in the country. We’re just waiting for reports of Benitez sightings in Hong Kong , Los Angeles or some remote area in the country.
At the same time, La Salle officials have become very scarce, too. Calls made by Bulletin reporter Richard Dy got no respsonse although he was lucky to get DLSU Coach Franz Pumaren on his cellphone last Wednesday.
We admire Pumaren’s coaching skills. A guy with five UAAP championships doesn’t have to prove anything. But we question his honesty. There is a bit of incredulity in his claim that he never knew of Benitez’s questionable background until after the second game of the championship series.
Yet, in a report made by the Inquirer yesterday, La Salle officials had informed UAAP President Fr. Maximino Rendon before the start of the second game or maybe even days before that, that one of its players was ineligible, thus rendering all the matches where this person played forfeited.
What made the whole caper so disgusting was that Fr. Rendon never called an emergency meeting to inform the UAAP board of La Salle’s explosive admission. He kept the information to himself knowing that La Salle was no longer in the hunt for a championship.
Instead, this priest had the game played because, according to him, La Salle wanted it that way. Which is even worse. He had become a partner to a conspiracy to deceive the public.
"Do you want me to turn the public away?" Fr. Rendon asked.
No, you don’t have to. You only have to be honest with them.
Imagine had La Salle won the second game, and also the rubber match for the championship? And later on announce that it was forfeiting the game because a player was ineligible?
That would have been the unkindest cut of all.
Even if FEU eventually got the championship, that would have been a hollow victory because it won the title by technicality.
On this note, our hearts go to Manny Salgado, La Salle’s assistant team manager, who was banned from attending UAAP games for life for losing his cool after his team dropped Game 1 of the title series.
He must be wondering, "Is this what I fought for, what I lost my honor for?"
