The email, which came from a “concerned citizen” who requested to be anonymous, questioned the credibility and actions of certain basketball tournaments on island.
The individual claimed to be a mother whose son was “kicked out” from the Garapan Basketball Court during games held by the Garapan Basketball League.
GBL head organizer Rey Perez replied yesterday in an email to Variety addressing the issue, saying the mother’s allegations were “not true.”
“We are very sorry for that incident and we wanted to know if that incident also happened because we don’t remember anything like that for the past two years. I will not tolerate any acts from my committee on ‘kicking them out.’ We are very professional and polite in manners,” he said.
Perez mentioned that the committee makes announcements every few minutes to alert the public of their games.
“As a parent, I find it quite disturbing to see how these so-called leagues and organizations are taking over the public basketball courts,” said the individual in a lengthy passage.
“…there were even several occasions where they would walk several miles from our house and dry up the court due to rain just so they can play but ended up being told to leave after they had cleaned up the area.”
The concerned mother went on, mentioning “what rights” the league’s organizers had with the court.
“From what I am aware of, aren’t these courts for the public? So that our kids can have somewhere to go after school and perhaps stay out of trouble and be in a safe area?” she added.
After finding “more information” on the matter, the anonymous parent also included that the leagues were “illegal,” saying their organizers do not have a legitimate organization or business license to run an event.
“To top it off, they are profiting from it, either through entrance fees from teams that are participating or side gambling. Others have even told me that most of these leagues are being run by contract workers that do not have a job and that these are their source of income,” she said.
Likewise, Perez addressed the issue saying the GBL is “a legitimate non-profit organization under the Chinese United Sports Club who organized the QQ Car Rental Basketball League and GBL.”
“We have the documents, certificates, letters, and necessary permits from the Division of Parks and Recreation to use the facility of the Garapan Court. We’ve been organizing sports events for these past years, our credentials speak for themselves.”
Perez noted that the league also has a “zero tolerance on any forms of gambling or any form of illegal means” as stated by the GBL’s ground rules that are signed by all players, coaches, and managers.
The GBL, which started its regular season last week Wednesday, utilizes the Garapan court every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
‘For the love of the sport’
James Lee, who was also listed in the anonymous email, expressed his concern on behalf of the Unified Basketball Association.
“I can reassure the public as well as the ‘concern parent’ that the Unified Basketball Association Inc. is a legitimate non-profit organization. The UBA has not profited what so ever since we began in 2009 and will never profit from it,” he said in a separate message.
“My take on this as a basketball organizer is that those who are ‘legit’ and sincere about the sport are really doing this for the love of the sport. It takes time as well as hard work and a lot of patience to keep this going. We have to deal with sponsors, teams, coaches, players, fans, our own committees or volunteers, and yes, even angry parents or people in general.
“As for the illegal leagues claimed by the concern parent. Please note that your actions are giving a bad name to the sport as well as to the rest of the legitimate organizations. I encourage the public to help point these leagues and people out so that we can help stop this illegal action.”
Variety learned that the anonymous email, which was sent to local media outlets a few days ago, was also forwarded to select government officials.
Other league organizers mentioned on the email were Marlon Sison (QQ Cup), Sonny Ebuen (Miller Lite Invitational Basketball Cup at Gualo Rai), Dante Olivos (Blue Haus Basketball League), and Ray Lizama (Masters Basketball Federation of the NMI).
They weren’t available for comments during press time.
