MANILA, Philippines: University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors assistant coach Obet Vital blasted the UAAP after it suspended head coach Jerry Yee without due process as he and the rest of the team claimed.

Speaking to the media following Yee's suspension was made public on Sunday, March 3, Vital said that the ban imposed on Yee for the remainder of the Season 86 volleyball tournament is not just an attack to the coach and the team but also to the whole UE community.

"This is very important. People are not gonna like what I'm gonna say, but what happened to Coach Jerry is not done to Coach Jerry alone, and I need UE, I need the UE community, the President, I need the student body, the student government, I need everybody to know that this wasn't done only to Coach Jerry," said Vital.

"We believe that there was no due process, alright? The timing of this being on a Friday, right before Adamson, I think they're not only targeting Coach Jerry, but they've targeted the girls, the players, the UE community, the volleyball program, the whole organization."

Vital made these comments in a post-game presser following UE's 19-25, 19-25, 28-26, 27-29 loss to Adamson at the Mall of Asia Arena, where he called the shots for the Lady Warriors since Yee is barred from entering the game venues over the period of his ban.

'Doc Obet' will continue to act as the UE head coach for the remainder of the season unless the league reverses the suspension it handed on Yee.

In a statement, the UAAP said that it decided to suspend Yee following the 'complaint raised by a member school against Coach Yee on account of conduct violative of the purposes of the UAAP'.

The league did not specify Yee's violations but it said that 'the Board Of Trustees (BOT) concurred with the Board of Managing Directors (BMD) findings that Coach Yee had engaged in acts inconsistent with the league's objectives.'

Vital rallied the UE administration to look into the matter and see if due process was indeed not carried out.

Vital said that it's imperative for the league to hear Yee's side of the story instead of immediately jumping to a decision to punish him.

"I would request for the UE admin to really really look into this and see if protocol was properly implemented. There is no process since the accused is found guilty right away. To add to what Casiey [Dongallo] said, in the spirit of fairness, they should bring everybody to the table and then they get to hear the person that's accusing and then the person that needs to defend, be able to know what his side is.

"What happened is that they handed the punishment not just to Coach Jerry, if he deserves it ah? We don't know. But it's a direct punishment to the kids, to the UE community, to the UE program, so, that's my request and I hope they hear me."

In his press statement, Yee insinuated that the member school which hurled a complaint against him was the one that he was previously employed at - Adamson University.

Yee head-coached Adamson's Lady Falcons in Season 85 last year but he parted ways with the school on June 7, 2023, when the school issued a statement of release which effectively terminated his services.

Yee said that the falling out between him and Adamson began when he took a head coaching job with the Farm Fresh Foxies in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL).

Yee shared that Adamson told him that its sponsor, Akari, 'wasn't happy and that it will be hard to continue with our arrangements' even as he offered to coach Adamson for another season without the additional compensation from Akari.

After his release from Adamson, Yee said that he accepted a head coaching job from UE on June 21, 2023. Thus, there is no ethical and contractual breach with his employment at UE.

"I maintain that there was no ethical breach in my decision to accept UE's head coaching job, because it was a mutual parting of ways for both Adamson and I. It is unfortunate that this career decision of mine has been met with vitriol at the late-onset, borne out of vindictiveness ironicall from an institution that prides itself in instilling Catholic virtues and teachings."

UE will appeal

Yee and UE expressed its intent to appeal the UAAP's decision to suspend him and the league acknowledged it on Sunday, saying that it will be addressed in the 'proper forum, in fairness to all concerned.'