MONSOUR Del Rosario pinned the blame on the parents of a taekwondo student athlete who bullied schoolmates in videos that have gone viral.
The Makati City representative said he is disappointed with the taekwondo jin from Ateneo Junior High School for using the sport to bully a schoolmate.
In one video, the student rained kicks and punches on schoolmate who was left bloodied by the incident. This came after the taekwondo athlete asked his schoolmate to choose between “bugbog” or “dignidad.”
At the end of the day, Del Rosario said it is the parents who should be be blamed for the “unacceptable” incident.
“None of us are perfect,” said the veteran of the 1988 Seoul Olympics. “We’ve all made our mistakes and should not judge people loosely. But to the parents of the bully, let’s be very clear here. This is as firm a judgement as you will ever get from me. Your son is a failed representation of our beautiful sport.”
“Every aspect of the viral video was hideous, weak, and unacceptable,” added Del Rosario, the only non-Korean who made it to the Taekwondo Hall of Fame.
The Philippine Taekwondo Association (PTA) already condemned the incident, saying the action is not what the sport stands for.
Del Rosario also encouraged all parents with children involved in martial arts to learn from the incident.
“Raise your children better. Let’s all raise our children to be better. Let’s raise our sons, particularly those in the martial arts, to be good men,” said Del Rosario.
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