Ateneo fan apologizes for flashing middle finger at La Salle fans

MANILA, Philippines – It’s a foregone conclusion that the sports rivalry between Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and De La Salle University (DLSU) is one of the most heated in the country, if not the most heated.

However, late into Wednesday’s Game 2 between the Ateneo Blue Eagles and DLSU Green Archers, some fans took the tension too far. With 4:07 left in the 4th quarter, defending champion La Salle was up big, 82-70, after having successfully completed a comeback from a 21-point deficit. At this point, a number of fans completely lost control. One fan threw a bottle near the Archers’ bench while another threw a coin, as reported by Tiebreaker Times. The most prominent, however, was a middle-aged fan wearing blue clearly flipping his middle finger towards the DLSU side.

The photo of the misconduct went viral as fans lambasted the actions of the man. However, in another post by Yeyey Yatco and forwarded by Ateneo fan page Team AMDG on Twitter, the fan identified as Chot Kabigting has since apologized to both the Ateneo and La Salle fan communities in a lengthy letter.

Public apology to the Ateneo and DLSU communities. pic.twitter.com/JOguzhytEp

— Team AMDG (@TeamAMDG) November 30, 2017

While Kabigting admitted and apologized for throwing the middle finger, he did stress that he was not the person who threw the bottle nor the coin, which caused veteran announcer and Ateneo alum Rolly Manlapaz to plead for order over the PA system and “get this game over with.” Kabigting said that he is “a man of peace” and not “a violent man.”

The unfortunate incident happened just mere hours after UAAP Executive Director and Commissioner Rene “Rebo” Saguisag, Jr. issued an open letter to fans, calling for “sportsmanship and positive participatory experience.”

Despite this, Twitter user @sergiewonder reminded everyone that both communities still have the highest respect for one another in a tweet that has been liked more than 15,000 times

That’s the Ateneo community standing up to applaud La Salle for winning game 2. They started even before buzzer hit 0. DLSU offered us the same courtesy when we sang our Alma Mater song next.

Don’t let a few outliers ruin the game for you. This place is filled with good people. pic.twitter.com/nqugpskqjz

— Serge Gabriel (@sergiewonder) November 29, 2017

With the winner-take-all Game 3 set on Sunday, December 3, again at the Araneta Coliseum, both schools will get the chance to clear up their reputations and formally end the season on a high note. – Rappler.com