A Former Athlete Reflects on the Ateneo Tragedy and the Safety Athletes Deserve

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Writers' note:

Without pointing fingers before all the facts are clear, I think it is still fair to say that something went wrong. If this was initiation, then someone was reckless. If this was purely an accident, then someone was still careless enough to let an unsafe situation happen. Either way, when young athletes do not come home, the conversation cannot end at “it was an accident.”

There has to be grief, but there also has to be accountability.

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Photos from UAAP Media/NBTC. 

Rene Clert Baterbonia and Divine Adili. Two lives were lost.

Honestly, I was putting this off.

There has been so much bad news lately, and sometimes, it feels easier to scroll past things just so you can keep going. But this one really hit the mark for me personally.

Maybe because I come from sports. Maybe because I know what it feels like to be young, part of a team, and hopeful about where that team can take you. Maybe because sports are supposed to be a road to a better future, and whatever the circumstances were, that future was stripped from them.

The deaths of two Ateneo basketball players in Aurora have led to grief, questions, and conversations about whether team buildings outside school should still be allowed. I understand why people are asking that. When something this tragic happens, it is natural to look at the activity itself and wonder if it should have happened at all.

But I do not think the answer is to say that team buildings outside school should never happen again. To me, that feels too easy. It also misunderstands what those moments can mean to athletes.

As an athlete, team buildings were some of the most fun I had. They built friendships and closeness that would not have happened if we were just in school or just in training. They are where teammates become family, where rookies start to feel like they belong, and where people connect beyond the pressure of competition.

So no, I do not think team building is the enemy. The problem is when bonding happens without a safety net.

Especially around water, safety should never be treated as a small detail. I was a swimmer. Even in a sport where water was our world, we knew to respect it. You check if the currents are too strong. You check the conditions. You manage the risks. If anyone is drinking, someone has to be responsible enough to make sure people are safe.

Safety is not one person’s job. It is a team thing.

There is grief, and there should be grief. People should collectively grieve too. But mourning should not erase the need for accountability. If this was hazing, then that is bad. If it was not hazing and it was just an accident, the question is still: why did it happen?

Life is so easy to lose. It is always better to be safe than sorry, because sorry does not bring anyone back.

And how do you quantify the loss of a future? How do you put a price on the career that could have been built, the degree that could have been finished, the family that could have been helped, the friendships that could have lasted for decades, the life that should have continued?

You cannot. So this is not a piece against team buildings. It is a plea to protect athletes first.

Let athletes bond. Let them build friendships. Let them find family in their teams. But protect them first.