Ray Parks is the complete opposite of his father, Bobby. Ray is troublesome, Bobby wholesome.
To be clear, Ray is not an outlaw. He just breaks team rules, like contract obligations. And as Ricky Vargas would put it, Ray loves to lie.
I have followed Bobby’s career and a bit of his life. Besides being the only seven-time best PBA import awardee (I voted for him seven times), Bobby was a role model of good manners and right conduct.
That’s what separates him from Ray.
“He has a major character flaw,” said Vargas of Ray when interviewed by Inquirer’s Musong Castillo. “He is not truthful and is not transparent, and that pissed us off.”
It is clear as day that Vargas, the PBA chairman and a major TNT cog, believes that Ray’s done TNT wrong.
He said Ray was given a “super maximum two-year deal” while making TNT officials believe that he was in the United States. It turns out Ray isn’t “and is enjoying himself [here] while saying all along he was attending to family matters in the US as the reason for taking a sabbatical [leave].”
TNT owner MVP (Manny V. Pangilinan) has tweeted that Ray is with a friend frolicking on a beach up North.
Vargas, known as a straight shooter, unloaded a mouthful in rebuking Ray.
“He is not a winner,” said Vargas. “We took care of him, took care of his family during this pandemic... The best thing he could do is show appreciation back. He owes it to our team, he owes it to the league and he owes it to the fans most especially.”
So hurt is Vargas that he is set to propose two major moves to address Ray Parks’ “untruthfulness.”
“Players cannot hold teams hostage,” said Vargas. “Using false reasons for sabbaticals is absolutely a no-no.”
Vargas said he would ask the Fiba, through the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), to require Filipinos wanting to play overseas to first secure an SBP clearance before signing a contract.
It was learned that Ray Parks is negotiating to play abroad.
He’d be hard-pressed to clinch that as league rules provide that parties have a mutual agreement before parting. Unless Ray mends fences with Vargas, he has dug himself a hole too deep for him to climb out.
Ray’s dad must be turning in his grave right now.