Don’t shoot down the Eagles

t’s been two weeks but the country is still shocked by the tragedy that happened in Aurora. The untimely deaths of Rene Clert Baterbonia and Divine Adili in a drowning incident proved how fragile life is as it turned a routine team-building activity into a nightmare.

Of course, the aftermath was expected.

Ateneo de Manila University had publicly issued an apology while the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines are all conducting investigations to determine the weight of the tragedy.

Even Blue Eagles head coach Tab Baldwin and team manager Epok Quimpo have already stepped down while other coaches who were part of that ill-fated boot camp were slapped with suspensions.

Yet, some quarters are suggesting that the Blue Eagles should also be suspended in the coming Season 89 men’s basketball tournament as well.

With a tragedy of this magnitude costing two lives, the infraction that Ateneo officials said to have committed is far more severe than what happened to De La Salle University exactly 20 years ago when it was meted with a one-year suspension from competing in all UAAP sports after it unwittingly fielded two ineligible players.

For me, this suggestion is not just misguided. It is heartless and downright cruel.

Look, the players are not the perpetrators in this tragedy. They are victims as well.

Just imagine the psychological toll of being dragged into deeper waters by towering waves, fighting for your own breath, and witnessing your friends slowly disappearing into the vastness of the sea. These young men did not just lose teammates; they lost a part of their family.

To penalize these survivors by stripping away their right to play in the upcoming UAAP season would be an act of secondary trauma.

For a student-athlete, basketball isn’t just a sport — it is a sanctuary. It is their safe space where they process stress, find structure, and heal alongside the only people who truly understand the specific grief they are carrying. Isolating them from the game they love, and from each other, serves no disciplinary purpose. It merely punishes the traumatized for a disaster they had no power to prevent.

Accountability belongs on the shoulders of the adults, the organizers, and the institution tasked to protect these kids. The university has already taken initial steps with the stepping down of its management and coaching staff, alongside the formation of a response and reform committee. That is where the investigation, the policy overhaul, and the structural corrections belong.

If we believe that what happened to La Salle in 2006 was harsh and excessive, then we should oppose it now and stop batting for the same to happen to Ateneo. Because if these Blue Eagles will be suspended similar to what happened to La Salle, that’s not justice — that’s lex talionis, an eye for an eye.

Hold accountable those responsible, impose sanctions if there are violations, but don’t ever punish the student-athletes just to satisfy a sense of revenge or misplaced equality.

Let’s not add to the trauma by making the Blue Eagles sit out. Let’s not punish them for being dragged into a tragic situation that they have no control over.

For them and their families, a one-year stint means a lot. They made a lot of sacrifices just to get this far and inch closer to their basketball dreams. All they want is to play, heal and honor their fallen teammates by standing together on the court.

Don’t shoot down these Eagles. Let these kids play.