Tragedy has a way of testing institutions — not when they are winning championships, not when they are enjoying public acclaim. Institutions are tested when they are confronted with loss, grief and difficult questions that have no easy answers.
The tragic drowning of two members of the Ateneo Blue Eagles men’s basketball team during a team-building activity in Aurora Province is one such moment. Two young lives were lost, and two families were left grieving. An entire community is struggling to make sense of a tragedy that should never have happened.
As someone who spent 20 years of my life in Ateneo, including law school, I write this not as a critic of the institution, but as one who deeply loves it. Like many Ateneans, I have always believed that the blue and white stand for something greater than championships or prestige. They stand for values, character and service.
The loss of two young lives should never be reduced to a public relations issue or a legal exercise in damage control. These were students entrusted to the care of their coaches, mentors and the institution itself. Questions will inevitably be asked. Were the risks properly assessed? Were safety measures adequate? The Ateneo community must resist the temptation to treat every question as an attack on the institution. Institutions earn respect not by avoiding scrutiny, but by confronting difficult truths.
In this regard, I believe Coach Tab Baldwin offering to resign would be acceptable and prudent. Likewise, it may be right for the Blue Eagles men’s basketball team to step back from competition for the coming season. Such actions should not be viewed as admissions of guilt, but as demonstrations of accountability and respect for the gravity of what has occurred.
The UAAP has seen similar moments before. In 2006, De La Salle University accepted a one-year suspension after discovering that ineligible players had been fielded. The circumstances are entirely different, but the principle remains the same.
Leadership is not measured by how effectively one avoids responsibility, but by how willingly one accepts it. More importantly, Ateneo and its basketball program should fully cooperate with every investigation conducted by government authorities. There should be no defensiveness and no attempt to place institutional reputation above the pursuit of truth.
The Jesuits taught us to be men for others. They taught us to do all things Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam — for the greater glory of God. Today, the Ateneo Way is not measured by how fiercely we defend the institution. It is measured by how compassionately we stand with grieving families, how honestly we confront difficult questions and how courageously we seek the truth.
In the end, no championship, no reputation, and no institution is more important than a human life. If we truly wish to honor the memory of these two young men, then we must show the nation what the Ateneo Way really means.
For comments, email him at darren.dejesus@gmail.com.
