Friday, January 22, 2010

White American basketball league

In June, the All-American Basketball Alliance will start its first season of play. What sets the AABA apart from other basketball leagues? Players must be white and born in the good ol' USA. Of course, AABA commissioner Don "Moose" Lewis says the league isn't racist. Of course not. From the Augusta Chronicle:

"There's nothing hatred about what we're doing," he said. "I don't hate anyone of color. But people of white, American-born citizens are in the minority now. Here's a league for white players to play fundamental basketball, which they like."
Lewis said he wants to emphasize fundamental basketball instead of "street-ball" played by "people of color." He pointed out recent incidents in the NBA, including Gilbert Arenas' indefinite suspension after bringing guns into the Washington Wizards locker room, as examples of fans' dissatisfaction with the way current professional sports are run.

"Would you want to go to the game and worry about a player flipping you off or attacking you in the stands or grabbing their crotch?" he said. "That's the culture today, and in a free country we should have the right to move ourselves in a better direction."

The Atlanta-based league, which will operate as a single-entity owning all of its teams, is looking for local contacts to pay $10,000 to become a "licensee" in one of 12 cities throughout the Southeast. Lewis said he has already received threats from people opposed to the roster restrictions and several cities have told him to stay out of town.

1 comment:

ARaceAgainstTime said...

There likely is demand for a family-friendly alternative to the NBA.

http://araceagainsttime.blogspot.com/2010/01/whites-only-basketball-league-idea.html