CHICAGO - In the noble and tedious pursuit of punishing the offender while assuaging the pain inflicted on the victim, justice needs to be swift.
After all, "justice delayed is justice denied," so says a common adage.
But in the case of suspended UE women's volleyball team coach Jerry Yee, the wheels of justice spun so fast it apparently ran over a key element required to attain fairness - due process.
TIMELINE of events leading to UE coach Jerry Yee suspension
"I think it's uncalled for," Yee told reporters on Saturday after learning of his three-month suspension. "I mean hindi naman ako nakunan ng side ko."
In its decision, the Board of Trustees explained that Yee was punished for actions "violative to the purposes of the UAAP" as well as "acts inconsistent with the league's objectives."
The reasons provided to support the verdict are vague, flimsy, and unconvincing. More damningly, it's unjust.
The UAAP also neglected to reveal Yee's supposedly injured party, saying only that the probe was initiated after a complaint filed by an "unnamed member school."
THE RIGHT TO KNOW.
Doesn't the law guarantee the right of an accused to face the accuser and answer the charges leveled against them?
Although Yee's supposed victim hasn't been officially identified, all signs point to Adamson University where he previously coached before the relationship ended in what was described as a "mutual parting of ways."
In fact, last June 2023, Adamson issued a statement saying "although it pains us to see him go, he has our sincere and complete support. We wish him the best."
That affection has since faded like well-worn jeans. What happened here, I surmise, is bad blood boiling and festering into a grudge.
Reached by phone this morning, coach Yee told me that he was informed by several reliable people with knowledge of the matter that Adamson's athletic director, the highly respected and very influential Fr. Aldrin Suan, is behind the complaint.
Just to be clear, if this is true, Fr. Suan merely exercised a right to pursue an avenue if he feels that Adamson has indeed been aggrieved by Yee.
Much as I would like to give Fr. Suan the benefit of the doubt, I also strongly believe that his actions come across as vindictive instead of gentle and loving.
LOVE NOT HATE.
Forgiveness is a tenet the Catholic church wants to instill upon its faithful flock. It would be lovely to see a man of the collar practice what his institution preaches.
Meanwhile Yee is shocked, frustrated and hurt by the fate that befell him.
"I'm apprehensive about my future employment," he told me.
"Nakakatakot, nakakalungkot," added the chair of the Coaching Commission of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) and one of only three souls in the country who holds a Level 3 coaching license from the International Volleyball Federation (IBF).
UE, their players and the school community as a whole, is also hurting for their beloved coach. So is the PNVF.
Just sadness all around.
The Yee-Adamson break-up is not a tale scripted for volleyball heaven, just another stark reminder that hell hath no fury than a powerful school spurned.
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