A budding league star no more?
Ray Parks, Jr. expressed disappointment via Twitter on Wednesday morning, regarding Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League’s controversial rule towards Fil-foreign players, which has put the league under fire on social media.
The league has recently announced that teams are allowed to include only one Fil-foreign player on their roster no taller than 6-foot-4, so as to preserve the competition among locals, as per commissioner Kenneth Duremdes.
“Kung papayagan natin yung malalaking Fil-foreign players, magkakaroon agad ng disadvantage sa mga local players natin. We want to look at the best interest of the league, yung magkaroon ng balance competition,” Duremdes told Fox Sports.
“First time in my life I was considered an American in my own home country,” said the newly-minted ASEAN Basketball League champion on the tweet, which has reached hundreds of likes and retweets as of this posting.
“Dito ako lumaki. Dito ako pinanganak. May Filipino passport ako. So dahil sa kulay ng balat ko at dahil tatay ko ay Amerikano dapat ako i-konsider na foreigner sa sarili kong bayan?”
It all started when Mandaluyong El Tigre head coach Mac Cuan brought in Parks, Jr. and fellow Alab mainstay Lawrence Domingo — a Filipino-American — into the team last week. From there, the league took action and made the rule.
Since then, the outcry has spread like wildfire.
With the second-generation star’s disappointment with the way rules are being implemented, it is now uncertain whether Parks, Jr. will go on to play for El Tigre in the league’s second conference this coming June.
Parks, Jr. is just one of many in the Filipino basketball circle who have aired their disgust for the league’s rule. Personalities such as Ali Peek, Rob Reyes, and even Marcus Douthit have weighed in on the issue.
