To the Ateneo de Manila community and other concerned parties,

Last April, The GUIDON published “Bring Back the Stripes,” a story about Ateneo student athletes’ grievances over the school’s sponsorship deal with Nike. The story was based mostly on accounts by athletes themselves regarding their experience with the said sponsorship. Given that just the previous year, a rival sportswear company sponsored Ateneo’s student athletes, many of the accounts inevitably veered towards a comparison of the two company’s respective stints as sponsors.

The GUIDON’s research and interviews for the article did in fact show that there was a greater level of overall satisfaction with the previous sponsorship than the current one. Of course, the grievances about the current deal are not without reason, and this was precisely what The GUIDON sought to find out when it worked on the said story.

In keeping with The GUIDON’s identity as the official student newspaper of the Ateneo de Manila University, the paper approached the story with an angle that would most be relevant to the student body. More specifically, the story was written to cater to the interests of The GUIDON Sports section’s primary audience: Ateneo student athletes and their well-wishers. Thus, in the same way that national dailies bring the troubles of average citizens to light, The GUIDON considered the issues surrounding the sponsorship deal a legitimate and significant concern of the students; it was but natural for the paper to report on what the deal turned out to be.

We recognize, though, that there were some lapses made in the writing process for the said story, which have led the story to be incomplete. While we reassert the truth of the quoted athletes’ accounts, we realize that the writers and editors could have sought the concerned school offices’ and Nike’s comments on the matter before the story’s publication. We sincerely apologize to the affected parties, particularly the University Athletics Office and Nike, for this oversight.

At the same time, however, we would like to point out that the article ended on a note that was hopeful of an explanation from the implicated parties.

Finally, we would like to remind all concerned parties that The GUIDON is a service to the student body, not to the different Ateneo offices or to external corporate entities. The paper does not and will not refrain from reporting anything that is of significance and concern to this primary audience, even when certain school offices consider such things to be non-issues.

At the end of the day, The GUIDON is a pro-student and Atenean publication that seeks to publish content for the benefit and welfare of the student body. The GUIDON is one of the most prominent channels for student sentiment, and it is through this very nature that grievances such as the ones reported in the article even see the light of day. In this regard, we protest the adversarial treatment The GUIDON, some of its members, and even some of the athletes quoted in the article have been receiving from concerned Ateneo offices following the publication of “Bring Back the Stripes.”

In consideration of the intricacies of the situation, though, we have decided to temporarily take down the story from The GUIDON’s official website. The story will be reposted once the article includes the perspectives of all concerned parties.