First Fil-Am Miss USA a victim of bullying

By Alex P. Vidal

“Sometimes I think sportsmanship is a little bit forgotten in place of the individual attention.”—Cal Ripken, Jr.

THERE can only be one word to describe the predicament of Miss USA 2022 R’Bonney Gabriel: bullying.

Yes fellas. The newly crowned first Filipino-American Miss USA from Texas was bullied by her fellow contestants who couldn’t accept defeat in the Miss USA competition held on October 3.

Gabriel’s bad experience with the sore losers from other states was reminiscence of Miss Philippine-Universe 2020 Rabiya Mateo’s sad plight when some of her fellow contestants accused her of cheating, an allegation that was never substantiated.

For sure, like in Mateo’s case, Gabriel’s accusers were also motivated by jealousy and bitterness because they were beaten by an underdog, in this case a Fil-Am beauty.

A model and fashion designer who competed as Miss Texas USA, Gabriel is the first Filipino-American to win the prestigious beauty contest.

Gabriel’s win was questioned by jealous contestants after the pageant as questions swirled on social media as to why most of the Miss USA contestants walked off the stage after the Fil-Am beauty was crowned.

Gabriel said she would “never enter any pageant or any competition that I know I would win.”

“I have a lot of integrity,” she told E! News.

Gabriel said she was open to talking to her fellow contestants.

“I want to be transparent, and I want everybody to know that there was no unfair advantage and nothing was rigged,” she stressed.

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“We are aware of the concerns that have been brought forth by this year’s Miss USA contestants,” the organization told The Post in an emailed statement.

“We commend the women for bringing these issues to our attention and will always be an organization that encourages women to use their voice.”

“We firmly believe everyone has a right to express their thoughts and experiences without retaliation and bullying,” the statement said. “There are existing systems in place to ensure the fairness of our national competitions and as such we have begun an active review into this situation.”

Earlier, in an Instagram post, Miss Alabama USA Katelyn Vinson hinted that the results were predetermined and she and others “never stood a chance” to win.

“It’s crushing and heartbreaking to have worked so hard towards a goal only to realize you never stood a chance,” Vinson said. “I had heard rumors but held onto hope. I kept working toward my dream because I didn’t want to believe it could be true.”

Miss Montana USA Heather Lee O’Keefe and Miss New York Heather Nunez also spoke out about what they said was favoritism shown towards Gabriel, including connections to a pageant sponsor and judge and spa services provided to her before she was crowned.

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The Asian Juniors and Girls Chess Championships will be held on November 17 to 26 at the Knights Templar Hotel in Tagaytay City. This was the information relayed to me by US chess master Marlon Bernardino before the RP Chess Team to the World Junior Chess Championship left for Sardinia, Italy on October 10.

Bernardino said no less Mayor Abraham N. Tolentino of Tagaytay City, president of the Philippine Olympic Committee and International Chess Federation (FIDE) Honorary Member, has confirmed the holding of the chess tournament in Tagaytay City.

The event is open to players 20 years old and below. Invited are 52 member nations of the Asian Chess Federation. Expected favourites are junior players from India, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and other neighboring countries. The tournaments will be 9-round Swiss systems in separate divisions for juniors and girls.

Tournament venue is the Knights Templar Hotel.

The Asian Juniors and Girls Rapid Chess and Blitz Chess Championships shall be held concurrently, Bernardino said.

The Asian Junior champion shall earn the Grandmaster norm while the Asian Girls champion shall earn the Women’s Grandmaster norm. The International Master (IM) and Woman International Master (WIM) titles shall also be conferred on the champions.

IM and WIM norms shall go to the silver and bronze medalists. The FIDE Master and FIDE Woman Master titles shall be conferred on them.

The Asian junior and girl champions will earn the personal right to participate in next year’s World Juniors and Girls Chess Championship.

The event is organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines in cooperation with the Philippine Sports Commission and City of Tagaytay under the auspices of the Asian Chess Federation and FIDE.

“This international event provides the opportunity for Filipino chess players to earn the coveted Grandmaster norm and International Master title,” Tolentino said.

FIDE Master Alekhine Nouri, 16, and Mhage Sebastian, 16, are the reigning Philippine national junior and girls champions, respectively. The pair are competing in the World Juniors and Girls Chess Championships in Sardinia, Italy.

Strong contenders are International Masters Daniel Quizon, 18, and Michael Concio, Jr., 17, who were co-champions in the Southeast Asian Zonal chess championship held online last year. Interested parties may download regulations at https://www.fide.com/calendar/52519. Deadline for registration is on October 17.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)