CHICAGO -- There was a spat in the third quarter of the contentious UP versus La Salle game yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena, that's an undisputed fact.
What's being disputed is whether somebody spat on someone during the commotion.
It's been reported by several media outlets including SPIN.ph that the oral projectile which allegedly hit UP's Reyland Torres may or may not have come from La Salle coach Topex Robinson.
READ: What happened in La Salle - UP in-game spat?
In this age where we've endured a SARS epidemic and a COVID pandemic, spitting is no small deal, a health hazard at worst and a barbaric, immoral act at least.
I'm not familiar with laws or ordinances against spitting, if any, in the jurisdiction that covers the Mall of Asia. A Google search wasn't much help and I didn't want to bother any of my lawyer friends in the Philippines, including my nephew Karl, on a Monday night to talk about oral misdeeds.
But here in my neck of the woods, spitting at another person is a Class A misdemeanor battery that is punishable by up to a year in prison and fines of up to $2,500.
UP TO FILE ETHICS COMPLAINT.
It's nothing to sneeze at, which is why UP, according to Snow Badua of SportSNow at DWAR Abanta Radyo, will file a formal complaint before the UAAP Ethics Committee on behalf of their player and alleged victim.
I asked Green Archers head coach Topex Robinson for a comment and this is what he told me via text message.
"I just can't issue any statement since the case is under investigation."
Silence is oftentimes, and wrongly, construed as guilt. That's true here.
Robinson is merely invoking his right against self-incrimination while also respecting the investigative process that the league is embarking on.
Look, this ain't a congressional QuadComm hearing. The former Phoenix Fuel Masters bench boss is free of any threat of being held in detention for evading a question.
POTENTIAL SANCTIONS.
At some point, however, he will have to eventually say his side of the story so that all parties can move on.
There is, after all, a Season 87 to finish and a title to defend.
If and when sanctions are forthcoming once the investigation is concluded, what penalty is coach Topex potentially facing?
That, too, is unclear. UAAP executive director Rebo Saguisag couldn't be reached while deputy commissioner Mariana Lopa replied only by saying "she was still in meetings."
READ: UAAP reviewing alleged spitting incident between Topex, Torres
But in 2022, the league slapped a two-game ban on UE coach Jack Santiago for allegedly "ordering his players to harm UP star Ricci Rivero."
I can't believe Robinson did or is capable of doing what is alleged.
In fact, I'm willing to believe that in the heat of the moment he may have screamed so hard at Torres that saliva was indiscriminately, inadvertently secreted.
But that's just one man's opinion.
Let's see what a jury of Robinson's UAAP peers find out in an impartial, and hopefully thorough, investigation.
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