A remorseful University of the Philippines forward Francis Lopez has apologized for “inadvertently hurting” a carnival employee while on an amusement park ride.
The University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 86 Rookie of the Year has sought forgiveness and took full responsibility for the incident through a public apology he issued on his Facebook account.
In a vlog posted by team captain CJ Cansino on 18 December, Lopez was seen grabbing the mask of an employee on a horror train ride inside the Subic Fiesta Carnival in Subic.
His action put the employee, who quickly put his mask back on, in danger as the train was moving.
The 6-foot-6 cager said he regretted the way he acted and vowed to be more mindful of his actions.
“Inadvertently, I hurt a carnival employee in one of the carnival rides. This thoughtless moment was recorded on video and was later posted on social media, and I take full responsibility for what happened,” Lopez said.
The video of Lopez, who was with some of his teammates during the incident, went viral and drew flak from netizens.
“I am sorry for any harm that I have caused, and I am committed to learning from this experience. I will do my best to be more mindful of my actions in the future,” Lopez said.
The Fighting Maroon star who helped UP to a runner-up finish added that he and the team have tried to reach out to the employee to personally apologize.
“We will continue to look for him because I want to talk to him and let him know that it was never my intention to hurt anyone,” Lopez said.
The amusement park has yet to release a statement regarding the incident.
Lopez also expressed gratitude to the UP community for its support and for holding him accountable for his actions.
“On the court and off it, I promise to do my best not to let you down,” he added.
Cansino, who has already exhausted his playing eligibility, also issued a separate apology.
“First of all, I would like to apologize to the person behind the mask and to those who watched the vlog,” Cansino said.
He added that he wanted to also take responsibility for Lopez’s misconduct.
“I take full responsibility for what happened,” he said.
“There is no reason to hurt someone and Francis is very sorry for what happened. We have been trying to contact the person so we can personally apologize for this.”
The Fighting Maroons finished second behind champion De La Salle University after a grueling best-of-three title series that went the full distance.
