Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — On Thursday (September 24), the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) issued a statement explaining its indefinite ban on sportswriter Snow Badua.
The PBA said that the ban was imposed on Badua “following his series of malicious and unfounded reports against the league’s member ballclubs and its officials.”
It also clarified that the sanction revokes all of Badua’s privileges as an accredited media practitioner, but does not impede his right to free speech.
The league said that the ban does not stop Badua from writing about the league in whatever platform he chooses, but that he would have to do so without being counted among the accredited media partners.
“[T]he PBA has the right to protect itself against those who are out to besmirch and tarnish the integrity of the institution, including its officers and staff,” it added.
Related: New PBA commissioner Narvasa bans writer from all league-related activities
The PBA leveled the ban on Badua on September 19 for “disrespectful arrogance and unceasing attacks on a person of authority of the PBA,” after the sportswriter’s Twitter tirade against Ginebra San Miguel governor Alfrancis Chua on social media.
Read the full statement here.
