Basketball Protectionism and Free Trade

Recently, the Department of Justice of the Philippines ruled that certain players claiming to be Filipino-Americans (Fil-Ams are US born players whose fathers or mothers are of filipino descent) playing in the Philippine Baskestball Association were actually fake Fil-Ams. Deportation proceedings are now underway. Although this is a victory for the natural-born basketball players who have been lobbying for the removal of the fake Fil-Ams from the league (and I support deporting those who have violated immigration rules by presenting fake documents), I think in the end the losers are the fans and Philippine basketball in general.

The recent development will delay, if not make difficult, opening up of Philippine basketball to players from the rest of the world. If there is one thing economists agree on it is that free trade and open markets are good things. The Philippines used to be the best in Asia in basketball up until the 60s. I believe if Philippine players are exposed to more and more competition from outside be it Fil-Ams or players from other countries the skill level will increase. Only really skilled filipinos will play and others can be employed elsewhere where they can be more productive. The entertainment value for the fans will also increase. Look at Europe where players from all over the world can play, now they can compete head to head with the best of the NBA, a lot of European basketball players are skilled enough to make it to the US pro league. Protectionism retards industries by sheltering them from competition, closing Philippine basketball to foreign players will only preserve mediocrity.