It wasn?t too long ago when a few laughed and scoffed at the news of Pacquiao deciding to further his education to pursue a college degree-his intelligence mocked and his capacity to pass the eligibility tests questioned.
But considering what Pacquiao had gone through in life, it was criticisms he couldn?t handle.
The critics should have already learned by his accomplishments in the ring that Pacquiao is an intelligent person. It not only takes talent and great physical gifts, but also intelligence to accomplish what he has done in the sports of boxing. The level of education on paper does not always accurately measure someone?s intelligence. Pacquiao?s success in his business endeavors as well as his pursuit of higher education and responsibilities already proves that he?s no blockhead and with his work ethic-there is no doubt that he has spent time learning on his own. He is a self made man after all.
Besides, Pacquiao was only doing what most of us expects from personalities such as Pacquiao-be a great model and reinforce what many of us want to instill in our children, which is place importance in education. While many athletes today are too willingly to accept the money and fame that comes with their profession while ignoring their duties as role models-Pacquiao willingly accepts it.
Now his pursuit of education has taken him to one of the higher office in the country as he was just voted as a Congressman of Sarangani. Some may say that his foray into politics is foolish and bound to negatively impact his reputation, but Pacquiao is not a follower but a leader-a person who marches to the sound of his own drum.
In a time where few athletes choose to stand on an issue or take a political stand for fear of having their shoe contracts terminated or other insignificant things, Pacquiao has chosen to ignore potential backlash from fans and endorsers by joining the dirty world of politics in his quest to further help his fellow countrymen.
Sure, Pacquiao has not encountered a controversial issue where he has to take a side, but his decision to enter politics shows that he will and not afraid to do so.
How significant is this? When is the last time that an athlete of Pacquiao?s caliber, a superstar in his prime, put himself in such a vulnerable position of possibly being castigated, criticized and having his legacy tarnished?
Maybe not since the days of Russell, Ali, Jabbar and Brown back in the day. In fact, it wasn?t too long ago when Ira Newble created a letter protesting China?s involvement in Darfur and asked his teammates to sign it? The only players who didn?t sign was Damon Jones, who had a shoe deal in China and James, a Nike endorser who said he had to think and learn about it first. Well it took him a year to somewhat speak out against it and did not follow through on his word to discuss the issue even further during the last Olympics in China. I still remember when Jordan was once asked to support a politician and turned it down and said, ?Republicans buys shoes too.?
It might be unfair to expect athletes to become more political and some may not care about their political views, but there is no doubt that they have a greater voice and influence that most people. Pacquiao is well aware of that and is set to use it to his own advantage to make a positive impact in his community. He is the antithesis of Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, sport icons who symbolizes the political apathy and cultural shallowness of today?s athletes. As a result, unlike most of his colleagues he is destined to be remembered for far more than his accomplishments inside the ring.
