CHICAGO - In this age of social media, public figures get bashed all the time. That's just the nature of the beast.
Dealing with it is the tricky part. Some choose to simply ignore the noise while others offer a rebuttal.
UST coach Pido Jarencio chose a pitchfork and a flame thrower.
"Ang dami kong basher. I love you all, mamatay na kayong lahat," Jarencio said on Sunday after the Tigers beat FEU, 79-70, to snap a three-game losing skid that put him in the toaster oven of criticism.
Veritas in Caritate, so says the UST school motto. Truth in charity.
REFRESHING OR OFFENSIVE?
Jarencio spoke his truth, alright, he just wasn't charitable. And I find his honesty to be wickedly endearing.
Having observed him since he was in college at UST, to Ginebra in the pros, and now in the sidelines, Pido has always projected himself as a toughie, an under-sized point guard with balls as big as a full moon.
This isn't the former Batang Pier coach's first rodeo with controversy. In fact, he's had quite a few.
Jarencio jawed with Terrence Romeo in 2018. He bumped then Blackwater coach Ariel Vanguardia in the handshake line two years ago. And just last year he engaged in a shouting match with NLEX import Thomas Robinson.
Tense encounters for sure, but none really escalated into physical violence.
TAKING IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.
Which is why his comments of wishing for the deaths of his detractors shouldn't be taken seriously. If you do, that's on you.
Jarencio is no Hannibal Lecter. He's just a crusty, sometimes ill-tempered 60-year old curmudgeon whose frustrations got the best of him in a way where he expressed himself with poorly selected words.
What mystifies me, really, is why Jarencio would even bother respond to the noise. He is accountable only to his players and his superiors. Those so-called fair-weather fans he mentioned should mean nothing to him.
Having said what he said, should UST sanction him for conduct unbecoming of a man in his position of leadership?
I hope not.
READ Pido Jarencio fined P20,000 for grave threat against PBA import
Except for the dying part, it was refreshing to hear an embattled coach, often unfairly criticized, reveal his true feelings minus the high-calorie sugar-coating of fake niceties.
Political correctness all the time is not just boring and monotonous, it softens the spine.
Look, when keyboard warriors who don't have the facility for civil discourse hurl insults at you while hiding behind fake names and anonymous accounts, you don't have to roll with the punches.
Turning the other cheek is noble, but fighting back to make a stand is also courageous.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
