“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” is the rule of the jungles, or the rule of the barbarians.

In a civilized society that adheres to democratic principles, the aforementioned practice is totally unacceptable. What we have is the “rule of law.” No one is allowed to take the law into his own hands. The exception, of course, is when one is bodily threatened by someone and is forced to act in self-defense.

On the night of Friday, October 16, 2009, Wynne “You Lose” Arboleda took the law into his own bloody hands and pummelled a special ringside spectator into a facial mess with his pair of fists during the second quarter of a Philippine Basketball Association game between his Burger King Whoppers and the young Smart-Gilas RP Developmental Team at the Araneta Coliseum.

No amount of reason can justify Arboleda’s barbaric act, no matter how provocative and verbally abusive fan Alain Katigbak was, and coming as it was immediately after he was slapped with his second flagrant foul in the game (first it was on JV Casio, then it was against Mac Baracael) that automatically merited an out-of-the-court penalty. Instead, Arboleda went after Katigbak.

Arboleda cannot claim to be acting in self-defense even though he is a perennial PBA All-Defensive Team selection and the Burger King team captain. Katigbak, described also as a businessman, was practically defenseless and was never in a position to retaliate due to the huge difference in height and heft.

The heavily-built Arboleda attacked Katigbak not once but twice. (Television videos do not lie.)

While Katigbak already had his head bowed and covered his face with both hands, a vicious and ferocious Arboleda continued to break open Katigbak’s hands so he could pull some more punches to Katigbak’s face.

At the same time a Whoppers teammate, Mark Yee, was out there in the vicinity of the melee, towering over Katigbak as if to challenge Katigbak to a fight as well. With the ball on one hand, the referee closest to Arboleda and Katigbak stood idly as if he were watching a Manny Pacquiao slugfest and never once attempted to separate the antagonists.

That night, the stocky 5-10 Arboleda was a thug, a hoodlum disguised in a Burger King jersey. According to him, he struck the fan because “Feeling ko nangliit ako. Nakakalalaki kasi, nangyari pa na nandito ang pamilya ko.” How conveniently he has forgotten that it is this PBA fan – and like the other paying customers that troop to the games – who brings food to his family’s table.

The Whoppers won the battle (115-105) all right, but the team, and to a larger extent, the PBA itself, lost the war in the hearts of the many fans who have given the league their unqualified support through the last 35 years.

Shame on Arboleda, who a day later apologized to the fan and the general public but also tried to pin the blame on Big Dome personnel for its lack of security.

My late mom always taught me not to make any excuses when offering an apology. Otherwise, your sincerity will be put into question. “I am sorry, pero siya kasi nagsimula, etc.,” is no apology at all.

A gentleman (ang tunay na lalake) is always responsible for his own actions.

Assuming that Katigbak had been throwing invectives at him and his Whopper teammates, the most reasonable (or civilized) thing for Arboleda to do is to inform the referees or security officials about it.

Instead, Arboleda decided to be the accuser, judge and executioner altogether and bullied the hapless Katigbak into submission.

For his barbaric act, I expect PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios to penalize Arboleda with at least a season-long suspension. The penalty must be very severe if only to keep reminding all the players – including big men like Marlou Aquino and Danny Ildefonso who also charged at unruly spectators during the 2008-09 Fiesta Cup – not to mess around with the hands that feed you, or the PBA fans to be exact.

The PBA fans may be rowdy and disrespectful at times, but that does not give the players the license to physically intimidate them at any time.

The right thing to do, as I have said, is to inform the referees or security officials about the matter and leave it to them to settle the issue.

As to the referee who stood idly while Arboleda was going ballistic against the hapless Katigbak, you deserve to be punished, too. It certainly was wrong for you to act like a bystander. You are part of the hardcourt police, but you failed miserably in your job.