Sexual Harassment?
By DING MARCELO
March 6, 2012, 12:17am
Cristy Jalasco is back in the news.
Cristy, whose turbulent public life includes being ousted from the presidency of the Philippine Olympic Committee, was inside the Azkals dugout before that national team’s game against Malaysia last Wednesday when she heard what she calls a sexist remark.
She also complains that one Azkal was wearing only briefs when she entered the players’ locker room.
She has since filed a sexual harassment case against two players.
One of the Azkals reportedly looked at her, sized up her bra, and said to another Azkal: It’s a B Cup.
The comment may not be the most proper thing ever heard in polite society, but it also happens to be one of the tamest things ever thrown around in a men’s changing room.
Uhh, buddies don’t talk about women’s clothes, shoes, and makeup. Couturiers do that. When buddies, athletes especially, gather and banter, they will more likely talk about women’s anatomies. It’s not supposed to be an insult; they’re just boys bantering. And as far as anyone knows, when girls gather and chill out, they also talk about men’s anatomies. And it’s also not supposed to be an insult; they’re just girls having fun.
As for the briefs, what are they supposed to do, wear a tuxedo? A coat and tie? Preppy clothes? In the changing room of a dugout?
Even if the lady said proper notification was made before she entered the dugout, it would have taken these players several minutes to get properly attired for her presence.
What’s more, these boys were getting ready to play! They’re getting their bodies ready for the open field. They’re not getting groomed for a party. They’re in various states of nakedness. They’re revving up, focusing, priming themselves for a very physical game. Tension is up.
And here the lady is, right smack in the middle of these intense preparations.
Cristy reportedly entered the dugout to check on the identities of the Azkals, to keep impersonators from going out there and ruining the game. This is standard Asian Football Confederation regulation, but it must have been totally out of sync for the Azkals who were getting ready for a very important battle.
Cristy insists that she was just doing her job as AFC match commissioner. She apparently enters dugouts before matches, probably holds a clipboard with the names of the players, and checks if the guys are present and if they really are the same persons listed in the lineup.
It makes one wonder why the Philippine Football Federation would send a female to do this job and why the female herself doesn’t see this job as loaded with potential landmines.
Moreover, does an athlete wearing briefs, in the dugout, while his attendance is being checked, constitute sexual harassment? Does a side comment about a B Cup fall in the realm of sexual harassment? Does this come parallel to making unwanted advances?
The only thing they may be guilty of is juvenile exuberance. As Cristy herself says in her letter to the AFC disciplinary committee: “When we entered the changing room of the Philippine team, I properly introduced ourselves and explained the procedure for the check. In spite of the introduction the players remained rowdy and noisy, apparently not taking the team check seriously and almost ignoring our presence.”
That doesn’t sound like the behavior of guys out to harass a woman sexually.
And sexual harassment has one important element, as far as I know. It’s committed by someone in a superior position against a lowly subordinate. It is power exercised against someone with little means to retaliate, someone who will not speak out, someone who cannot protect himself/herself because it can mean losing one’s job.
The lady is an AFF official whose job is sanctioned by Asia’s highest governing football body.
For his part, Dan Palami, the Azkals team manager, has said in a reply to Cristy’s complaint: “In my personal experience of the usual goings-on in the men’s locker room, the tension, excitement and nervous energy before a match often result in a lot of boisterous bantering. For someone who walks into this situation, this might appear as bordering on disrespect.”
Nevertheless, Palami has apologized to Cristy, the daughter of former President Fidel Ramos, and promises to investigate the incident.
www.mb.com.ph/articles/353394/sports-fan