Filipinos First? Exploring Xenophobia and Its Legal Remedies in Philippine Amateur Basketball

This chapter analyzes the discrimination that foreign student-athletes (FSAs) face through policies instituted by the Philippines’ top collegiate amateur sports organizations, which restrict participation in competitions. These policies ostensibly uphold amateurism and develop local talent, but negatively impact student-athletes from Nigeria, Cameroon, and other African countries who tend to excel compared to local student-athletes. While these restrictions have been widely criticized as racist, and detrimental to basketball as a sport, it appears likely that they will remain in place. The ban on FSAs is reinforced explicitly and/or implicitly in law and league regulations, confirming a recurring nationalist theme within Philippine sports. To the extent that law and jurisprudence can have a positive normative effect on society, it is important to find legal avenues to resist these measures. This chapter argues that there is the possibility under Philippine law for affected FSAs to protect their freedom through litigation based on equal protection and non-discrimination, and discusses potential modes of action and evaluates elements that may affect their success.