WEIGHT DISCRIMINATION, as former PBA courtside reporter Ira Pablo pointed out in her most recent post, was the reason why her sport reporting career came to an end abruptly despite being promising.
Despite the fact that she was fired from her dream job of courtside reporting for Asia’s oldest league two years ago, Pablo chose to break her silence solely to bring closure to a chapter in her life that still haunts her.
A longtime dream
Ira, the daughter of former PBA player Vic Pablo, believed she had achieved one of her life dreams when she began working as a courtside reporter in 2022, only to be hit with despair.
“Sharing something I wish I had the courage to share 2 years ago —I became a PBA courtside reporter tapos tinanggalan ako ng trabaho kasi “mataba” daw ako,” said Pablo, to start her lengthy post.
“The only reason I signed up as a collegiate courtside reporter, was to practice and prepare myself for PBA. Di naman ako nanonood ng UAAP noon eh. Mas kilala ko pa si Joe Devance kesa kay Chris Tiu.”
“After 6 years of sports reporting experience, I was finally invited and chosen to report for PBA back in 2022. Sobrang saya ko talaga. It was a childhood dream come true.”
Photo Courtesy: Ira Pablo | Facebook
She was immediately sacked after reporting for nearly ten games and with no explanation as to why. Only to learn that she couldn’t do another report because she was “overweight”.
“After covering just about 10 PBA games, all of a sudden, wala na akong assigned games. Nagtataka ako kung bakit nagsimula na yung next conference, pero wala pa rin akong schedule,”
“They held auditions for new PBA reporters, but I had no idea or even just a heads up from the management or network that I would be replaced. Akala ko magdadagdag lang talaga ng reporters.”
The haunting experience
Pablo has no problem with fresh reporters coming in with no or little background or expertise in sportscasting. The only issue for her is why the league needs to kick her off the squad.
“The ones that replaced me were beginners compared to the years of work I put in just to qualify for the position. No offense meant, just stating facts,” Pablo went on to share.
“Some members of the production finally had the discretion to tell me what was REALLY going on —the head of the network, who is a female (if I may add), didn’t want a lot of plus sized girls as reporters for PBA. In short, body type ang naging basehan.”
Photo Courtesy: Ira Pablo | Facebook
Aside from that, she shared her thoughts on the continuing discussion over how women are objectified in a male-dominated workplace. However, she had a more unusual experience.
“There has been an ongoing discussion on how men are objectifying women are in a male-dominated workspace such as sports (specifically basketball),” she said.
“But there isn’t much discussion about how women are objectifying other fellow women in a male-dominated workspace. Idk which is worse, pero at this point, parang the latter? Because it’s women bringing other women down.”
What’s more excruciating is the fact that, unexpectedly, the men on the sports production crew offered her excellent and helpful feedback, as opposed to what she received from women who are more concerned with criticizing her appearance on camera.
“Ayun. After about 10 games, wala na akong trabaho sa PBA. It was a male that got me in PBA, but it was a female that kicked me out. Ang saklap,” Pablo reflected.
“Hindi ako nainform na requirement pala ang 25-inch waistline para mag cover sa PBA, akala ko sportscasting skills ang kailangan.”
Still a core memory
Despite the unfavorable experience, Pablo now has a more optimistic outlook on her images and videos reporting for the league. Her unpleasant experience turned into a core memory she will treasure forever.
“Looking back at these photos and videos, hindi na siya masakit sakin. Ang galing ko pala talaga mag report sa basketball partida first and only PBA conference ko lang yan,” she added.
“It was such a great and unforgettable experience for me to be able to live out my childhood dream even for just a short while —but it was a childhood dream for a reason. I was meant to grow up and aim for better things.”
Pablo wrote a separate post about her tremendous excitement at receiving such love and messages from her old colleagues. Proving to everyone that her worth will never be measured in pounds, but rather in opportunities she created for herself.
