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| Ira Pablo-Neypes said that she was kicked out of her PBA courtside reporter duties because she was too "plus-sized" for the job. From Neypes' Facebook page |
MANILA—In what could be considered a call to stand up on body-shaming, Ira Pablo-Neypes revealed on Tuesday how she was unceremoniously removed from her job as a courtside reporter for the PBA.
In a lengthy Facebook post, the daughter of PBA legend Vic Pablo said that she was somehow blindsided when she only found out why she was no longer tasked to cover the play-for-pay league's games after only 10 matches in the 2022-2023 season.
"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. 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," said Neypes, who first served as National University's courtside reporter for the UAAP when it was still with ABS-CBN.
"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’t want a lot of plus-sized girls as reporters for PBA. In short, body type ang naging basehan."
The wife of current Davao Occidental Tigers player Kyle Neypes added, "After about 10 games, wala na akong trabaho sa PBA. 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."
Ira Neypes also revealed a story of how another courtside report was fired from the PBA job.
"Meron akong nabalitaan na napaginitan lang ng ulo eh tinanggalan ng trabaho. If you know, you know. But that’s not my story to elaborate on anymore," she further said.
However, she clarified that she has already moved on from her PBA exit.
"Hindi na siya masakit sakin. Ang galing ko pala talaga magreport sa basketball partida first and only PBA conference ko lang yan hahaha! 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," Neypes continued.
Now earning more than double what she was earning in the PBA as she claims, she then owed her statement to her past self "that worked so hard to gather as many sportscasting experiences as she can," her current self who knows "that my worth isn’t measured in pounds, but it’s the number of opportunities I still create for myself despite rejection and discrimination," and her future self, who she told, "Just believe in yourself, learn from your experiences, and let your magic take you to places."
Neypes' statement concluded, “Bringing another woman down is something girls practice. Real women want to see other women win.”
Follow him on X: @IvanSaldajeno
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