24 April 2014

Yeng Guiao Insults People with Down Syndrome

Coach Yeng Guiao
I have respected the fiery head coach of Rain or Shine Elasto Painters for his stand in the quality of officiating in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and the way the league has not address or not address the obvious non-parity of teams owing to lopsided trades between mother and farm teams.

However, it doesn't give coach Yeng Guiao any excuse to insult people with Down Syndrome or those with genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. Down syndrome is typically associated with physical growth delays, characteristic facial features and mild to moderate intellectual disability.

If reports are true that coach Guiao called Meralco Fil-Am forward Cliff Hodge "mongoloid" just as both teams were walking back to the dugout and also called import Darnell Jackson an "asshole" during the first half in their PBA Commissioner's Cup quarterfinal playoff, then it clearly shows lack of breeding, education and respect for other people.

Hodge was caught on television replays hitting Rain or Shine rookie Raymond Almazan with a closed fist just as both players were going after a defensive rebound during the dying seconds of the game. The 6-foot-7 Almazan dropped to the floor upon contact , which probably caught the ire of Guiao.

However, instead of issuing a formal complaint to the office of the Commissioner, coach Guiao waited for Hodge to walk out of the court and tried to have a word with the player. As cooler heads intervened, the fiery coach, in the presence of league commissioner Chito Salud and in within earshot of the fans at courtside, Guiao called Hodge "mongoloid."

For coach Guiao, here is one unsolicited advice:
It's playoff time. Harder fouls are expected to be thrown and if you are not strong enough, you will crumble.

The fouls that Rain or Shine received from the Bolts are the same fouls that the team gave to San Mig Coffee Mixers and Alaska Aces in their previous matches. What goes around comes around. If you don't like it, file a complaint. Don't get your passion get the better of you and insult people with mental and health disabilities because they are already facing hardship without you abusing them.
There is no question that Hodge delivered a hard foul. However, this is also the reason why we have league officials that reviews the games and assessed penalties whenever one is needed to be imposed later.

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