CHICAGO - According to the ITA, Justin Brownlee tested positive for a banned substance. What a downer.
The news comes at an ill-opportuned time when our basketball-loving nation is overwhelmed with pride after ending a 61-year gold medal drought at the Asian Games.
And now, that precious metal is in peril.
READ: Will Gilas be stripped of Asiad gold after Brownlee positive test?
I've expressed it already on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, and I'm going to say it again. This issue is merely an irritant that should not displace Gilas from the top of the podium.
Marijuana is not a performance-enhancing drug. I've tried it myself in college and all it did was make me wanna sleep. Even the NBA no longer deems the use of weed illegal.
Brownlee's herculean performance at the Asiad was not induced by any chemical. He carried us over China and Jordan simply with his relentless fight and stout heart.
LABAN. PUSO. AND THAT LEGENDARY NSD SPIRIT
However, marijuana still isn't allowed in the Asian Games where Brownlee played.
And no matter how much we rationalize and deflect it as perhaps politically-motivated, there is a violation.
Adherence to rules is about personal responsibility and ignorance of said rules excuses no one from compliance therewith.
I called and sent a text message to Justin today. I was going to ask him his thoughts on the positive test. Who knows, maybe he unknowingly ingested a substance laced with Carboxy-THC.
He didn't reply, which is okay. Allowing the process to play out through the governing bodies concerned instead of through the media, is standard operating strategy in dealing with sensitive, high-profile matters such as this.
We now get to the part that is awkward, uneasy: Will Gilas be stripped of the gold?
POC president Bambol Tolentino, citing an article that at least more than two players must test positive for wins to be vacated, insists that we have earned the gold and should keep it.
HIS CONFIDENCE REINFORCES MINE
But here's the scary part, the Asiad hosts have a hand in the process. And the way tensions have spilled from the court to the West Philippine Sea, our chance of a favorable ruling is slim to none.
Rightly so, many fans are angered by the test results, the timeline in which it was taken, and the manner with which it was administered.
Venting is good and conspiracy theories sell newspapers.
But the bottomline here is that a rule was broken.
And as we await the consequences, we are the mercy of the "enemy."
God help Gilas.
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