University of the East women’s volleyball coach Jerry Yee cried foul when the University Athletic Association of the Philippines slapped him with a three-month suspension for “conduct violative of the league’s purpose.”

The punishment wasn’t just unfair — it was downright cruel.

Yee is one of the country’s most brilliant and respected sports mentors. In fact, he chairs the coaching commission of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation and is one of only three Filipino coaches who hold a Level 3 coaching license from the world-governing International Volleyball Federation.

The suspension will not only keep Yee out for the remainder of Season 86 but also reduce his chances of landing lucrative jobs. It will also send a chilling message to other coaches that they must toe the line if they want to remain in the good graces of the powerful UAAP Board of Managing Directors.

But Yee’s suspension isn’t about policies. It’s about pride.

Yee used to handle Adamson University. Suddenly, an offer to coach in the professional Premier Volleyball League came up, prompting him to bid the school goodbye.

With a heavy heart, Adamson let him go. In a press statement last June, Adamson stressed, “Although it pains us to see him go, he has our sincere and complete support. We wish him the best.” Clearly, it was a mutual parting of ways.

Shortly after, the entire starting unit of the Lady Falcons joined Yee at Farm Fresh in the PVL. Stars like Trisha Tubu, Kate Santiago, Rizza Cruz, Cae Lazo, Apryll Tagsip and Louie Romero packed their bags to turn pro for better opportunities — and better income. Then, Lorene Toring was included in the Foxies pool after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament.

Yee, meanwhile, was also hired by UE to call the shots for its women’s volleyball team.

But the exodus sparked by Yee’s decision to join Farm Fresh didn’t sit well with Adamson.

School officials filed a complaint, saying that the veteran mentor misled them by joining a rival squad in UE instead of sticking to his initial plan of calling the shots for Farm Fresh in the professional ranks.

The UAAP Board of Managing Directors sided with Adamson. It imposed a three-month ban on Yee, practically punishing the entire UE women’s volleyball program by leaving it in chaos right in the middle of the season.

Worse, Yee learned about the looming ban only on Friday afternoon. It was formally announced just a few hours before the Lady Falcons battled the Lady Warriors last Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena. What a coincidence!

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the UAAP’s treatment of Yee and the Lady Warriors was a great injustice.

First, the UAAP doesn’t have a definite rule about coaches switching sides, making the sanction imposed on Yee for “engaging in acts inconsistent with league objectives” vague and unclear, with no legal leg to stand on.

Second, there was no due process, as the UAAP didn’t bother to ask Yee to clarify the allegation before imposing one of the harshest punishments the league had ever imposed.

Third, and more importantly, the lengthy suspension completely deprived Yee of the right to a living to provide for his family.

But it’s not too late. Yee and UE have filed an appeal, giving the UAAP a golden opportunity to rectify its massive blunder against a person being punished for doing what he thought was best for him and his family.

The UAAP is a respected organization composed of eight of the country’s most reputable educational institutions. It should serve as a bastion of academic excellence and wisdom, principled fortitude, moral uprightness, and humility.

The pressure is now on the UAAP. It has to make the right decision to prove that pride, hate, and vengeance don’t have a place in the organization that owes its success to the countless young students who shell out part of their meager allowances to cheer for their respective schools.