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Former PBA courtside reporter Ira Pablo. Ira Pablo/Facebook.

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Romwel Anzures

ABS-CBN News

<div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);min-height:13.8px"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1729050994150IMG_5325.jpeg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Former PBA courtside reporter Ira Pablo. Ira Pablo/Facebook.Former PBA courtside reporter Ira Pablo. Ira Pablo/Facebook."/>Former PBA courtside reporter Ira Pablo. Ira Pablo/Facebook.</div>MANILA — Former PBA courtside reporter Ira Pablo shed some light on how she lost her &#x27;childhood dream&#x27; of covering the 49-year-old league due to body discrimination.Also a former UAAP courtside reporter, the daughter of PBA great Vic Pablo previously covered the PBA in 2022, and she bared how this was cut short even before gaining steam.&quot;Sharing something I wish I had the courage to share two years ago — I became a PBA courtside reporter tapos tinanggalan ako ng trabaho kasi &#x27;mataba&#x27; daw ako,&quot; Pablo wrote in a social media post. &quot;To those who saw me grow up, alam nila na elementary palang ako gusto ko na mag cover ng PBA. Watching my dad play was my biggest influence. In fact, the only reason I signed up as a collegiate courtside reporter was to practice and prepare myself for PBA. &#x27;Di naman ako nanonood ng UAAP noon eh. Mas kilala ko pa si Joe Devance kesa kay Chris Tiu.&quot;<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/2024/7/18/andrea-brillantes-speaks-out-against-body-shamers-sa-mga-nag-cocomment-about-my-arms-i-really-dont-care-1728">RELATED: Andrea Brillantes speaks out against body-shamers: &#x27;Sa mga nagko-comment about my arms? I really don&#x27;t care&#x27;</a></div>&quot;After six 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.&quot;&quot;But 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.&quot;&quot;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 new reporters [who all had minimal to no basketball sportscasting experience btw] started coming in and they all had one thing in common — they were all petite-sized women.&quot;<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/10/11/pba-suspends-john-amores-for-one-conference-1845">READ: PBA suspends John Amores for one conference</a></div>&quot;Meron ngang nakuha na hindi sports ang background niya. She is also petite in build. Wala namang masama sa inexperienced, everyone can learn sportscasting. Pero PBA na kasi to eh, it&#x27;s not the place for a sportscasting training ground.&quot;&quot;At least not for me. I have no problems with new reporters coming in, pero bakit ako ang nawalan ng trabaho? Hindi ba pwede lahat kami may trabaho? The ones who 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,&quot; she added.Pablo did not drop names, but she pointed out that a certain female head of a network was the one who made such decisions.&quot;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&#x27;t want a lot of plus-sized girls as reporters for PBA. In short, body type ang naging basehan.&quot;&quot;There has been an ongoing discussion on how men are objectifying women in a male-dominated workspace such as sports, specifically basketball, but there isn&#x27;t much discussion about how women are objectifying other fellow women in a male-dominated workspace. I don&#x27;t know which is worse, pero at this point, parang the latter? Because it&#x27;s women bringing other women down.&quot;She also shared some of the differences between the comments of her male and female colleagues back then. &quot;Did you know that it was the men from the sports production team that gave me great and helpful feedback? Like: &#x27;Ira ganda nung reports mo kanina&#x27;, &#x27;Nice questions&#x27;, &#x27;In your future interviews, try to be more straight to the point para mas snappy&#x27;, &#x27;You&#x27;ll get there soon&#x27;, &#x27;Okay rin kung ma-interview mo din &#x27;tong player na &#x27;to next time para mas in-depth ka,&#x27; &#x27;Good coverage today,&#x27; &#x27;Nagustuhan ni direk yan.&#x27;&quot;&quot;The women, on the other hand, gave me comments like: &#x27;Send me a picture of your makeup and outfit first for approval,&#x27; &#x27;Wear thicker contour para mas maliit tingnan yung mukha mo sa camera,&#x27; &#x27;Diba sinabi mo na gagawin mo lahat para maging reporter? Bakit &#x27;di ka sumusunod? We said to wear your hair down, why do you keep tying it up?&#x27;&quot;&quot;It was a male that got me in PBA, but it was a female that kicked me out. Ang saklap. Hindi ako nainform na requirement pala ang 25-inch waistline para mag cover sa PBA, akala ko sportscasting skills ang kailangan.&quot;Pablo then went on to express her message to herself and also reflected on the lessons that went with the experience that she got in her brief stint on the sidelines of the PBA. &quot;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! 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.&quot;&quot;I owe this post to my younger self — that she worked so hard to gather as many sportscasting experiences as she can so that one day she will be ready to report for the most elite local basketball league. I owe this post to my current self — to know that my worth isn&#x27;t measured in pounds, but it&#x27;s the number of opportunities I still create for myself despite rejection and discrimination. I owe this post to my future self — that everything does not end when your life didn&#x27;t turn out as you envisioned it to be. Just believe in yourself, learn from your experiences, and let your magic take you to places.&quot;&quot;Last na, this is not the first case that the management removed a reporter from her job because of petty reasons such as weight. [Medyo valid pa nga yung weight kasi para na rin kaming mga artista sa TV, and part of the job na yung may preferred body type]. Meron akong nabalitaan na napaginitan lang ng ulo eh tinanggalan ng trabaho. If you know, you know. But that&#x27;s not my story to elaborate on anymore.&quot;&quot;Bringing another woman down is something girls practice. Real women want to see other women win,&quot; she ended.

Former PBA courtside reporter Ira Pablo shed some light on how she lost her ‘childhood dream’ of covering the 49-year-old league due to body discrimination.

Former PBA courtside reporter Ira Pablo shed some light on how she lost her ‘childhood dream’ of covering the 49-year-old league due to body discrimination.

Former PBA reporter Ira Pablo on why she lost courtside duties: ‘Mataba raw ako’

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Former PBA reporter Ira Pablo on why she lost courtside duties: ‘Mataba raw ako’

Romwel Anzures,

ABS-CBN News

Published October 16, 2024 12:17 PM PHT

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Updated October 16, 2024 02:23 PM PHT

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PBA courtside reporter

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Vic Pablo

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