CHICAGO -- Months after his very public and contentious break-up with TNT Tropang Giga, Bobby Ray Parks had gone incognito.
Navigating like an asset under the Witness Protection Program, he left no footprints in the real world or fingerprints on social media.
In the parlance of our times, Ray Ray had become a ghost.
Not anymore.
Parks is alive and well, and ready to face the world again as he attempts to find "peace and serenity and the genuineness of basketball" via the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins of the Japan B.League.
While on a mandatory 14-day quarantine in Nagoya, Parks lent a rare media appearance at Power and Play with Kom Noli Eala over at Radyo5 and other platforms.
In our business, this was a "blockbuster interview."
Notorious for being distant and aloof to the media, Parks was not only uncharacteristically open to Eala, the former NU gunner was delightfully engaging.
"I'm relieved. I'm happy. I'm excited."
Those were just a few of the many emotions that jumped out of Ray's gray hoodie and it was a far cry from what seemed to be confusion, sadness, and indifference that tainted his PBA tenure.
From the darkness of his PBA experience, Parks saw only the bright red carpet rolled for him by his new team.
""THEY'RE TREATING ME SO WELL, TO BE HONEST. THEY"RE VERY WELCOMING. THEY'RE VERY GENUINE. THEY'RE WARM AND ACCEPTING," HE SAID DURING THE 30-MINUTE CHAT.
He also spoke about the toxicity he went through from the unkind, maybe even cruel, words that the fans blurted toward him during his "sabbatical" that eventually led to his departure from the PBA.
Determined to move forward, he humbled himself and apologized to the PBA, to TNT, and the fans over what he refers to as "miscommunication."
I need to apologize, too. To Bobby Ray Jr.
I had misjudged, misunderstood this kid. I realized that now after hearing his side of the story. And I believe him.
Anyone who says they need time to take care of their family must be given the benefit of the doubt. I was wrong and foolish to have taken the low road.
"My heart was in the right place," he said of the time when he was engulfed by controversy,
And despite that, he was "crucified."
We can now safely say that the Bobby Ray Parks saga belongs in the "life is not fair" file.
But it comforts me to know that Ray Ray is in a much better place now.
Free from intrigue. Free from suffering. Free from the prying eyes of a fan base that relishes in the personal business of pro athletes.
As an added bonus from karma, his salary in Japan is more than he could ever have imagined had he stayed in the PBA.
According to my colleague Randolph Leongson, there are now six Flipinos in the Japan B.League.
Six less lonely basketball players in the world.
It's not a prison break just yet. But there is a huge hole in the fence where the talent is leaking.
The PBA needs to mend some of its errant, archaic ways. Otherwise, we could all be watching B.League games on TV instead of our own beloved league.
And the way things are going, that may not necessarily be a bad thing.
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