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A whites-only basketball league aims to launch in twelve cities this summer, according to a report in the Augusta Chronicle. The All-American Basketball Alliance would also ban players born outside the United States.
The league's commissioner, Don "Moose" Lewis, claims that he doesn't "hate anyone of color. But people of white, American-born citizens are in the minority now." Thus, he says, the All-American Basketball Alliance would be "a league for white players to play fundamental basketball, which they like."
The commissioner of this league added the following observations:
Lewis said he wants to emphasize fundamental basketball instead of "street-ball" played by "people of color." ...
"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."
I think basketball is a game set to music, no matter who plays. I don't know who the audience for this all-white league would be. Are there really folks out there who don't like to see Kobe's fall away jumper, LeBron's monstrous dunks, Dwight Howard's domination in the paint, and/or DWade's Jordanesque "how did he do that" shots? If you don't get excited by these and other players in the NBA, then you don't really like basketball.
At the foundation of this new league is...well, the name of the league is All-American for crying out loud. All-American? Last time I checked we were all Americans...is it the black kids fault that they lived and breathed basketball so it becomes second nature to them? Fundamentals are taught as you learn about the game...so if these kids are coached and taught based on what James Naismith wrote when he developed the original basketball rulebook, what is the difference? When exactly did the fairer race become a minority?
Trying to circumvent the real reason for this league by saying that white players play fundamental ball and black players do not is pure foolishness. Don't hide racism behind illogical reasoning.
The NBA is a business. They want the most exciting players who are going to deliver endorsements and money back into the league. Maybe the white kids should consider playing some of that "street ball" to up their game.
5 comments:
It looks to me like the commissioner doesn't like the fact that the NBA is dominated by black players. I was also taken aback my the name of this proposed league because the implication is real American=white. "Moose" can spin it all he wants, but he's being a racist. He also implies that white athletes are above giving someone the finger, attacking a fan in the stands or grabbing their crotch.
"Moose" is also under the assumption that white players prefer so-called "fundamental" basketball by nature and are above getting into altercations with fans. I guess that Jason Williams (aka "White Chocolate") wouldn't be welcome in the All-American Basketball Alliance.
What a mess. My jaw dropped too. I found the entire concept disgusting and racist. Both the words "fundamental" and "all-american" were offensive to me.
I don't think it's racism. It seems racial, in that he's selling his race short in terms of athletic ability and believing that blacks and whites play different games of basketball (so do the Celtics and Cavs lol).
I think it's just crybaby madness.
It's like dumbing down tests so the less intelligent among us and those refusing to study the same can pass and feel "equal."
White players should feel insulted that they're being viewed as not as athletic as black players or wanted to play a dead style of below-the-rim b-ball.
This reverting back to the "old school" days of ball, where a hunched-over 5-footer dribbled for 4 minutes before taking a hook shot, is really a way to keep talent out.
It's like banning the homerun hitter from little league because the rest of the kids can't hit them over the fence. It's like doing away with dodge ball completely because a few kids have candy arms or a proclivity for crying when getting thumped in the face.
It's just an attempt to create equality to spite Darwinism.
You know, some people aren't just cut out for basketball. I'm certainly not. And I realize that's just how it is. I don't want to play Z-ball because I'm not an A-baller. I'll try something else.
In the evolution of basketball, bigger, faster, stronger dominated. And when black superstars finally emerged, millions of young black kids wanted to be that.
We're witnessing the results in the league and on teams around the country. Basketball is cultural, and there aren't nearly as many whites trying to break in, but to think it's solely to do with race is ridiculous.
There are plenty of legitimately athletic white people playing in the NBA -- a lot of whom are from Europe, which brings up a problem that, again, has little to do with race and all to do with who's dreaming of the NBA and who's trying to be a doctor, banker, MLB star, singer, etc x infinity.
I don't like this watered-down crap. I don't like it when it's done to placate others in society who just can't cut the mustard. I'm certainly no believer in having separate divisions of the same thing -- one for the deserving and one for the ones not cutting it.
Moose is trippin' with this one. It's amazing the things that some people will say and do to get fame. This guy is crazy. But, it does make me wonder about the people who would play in this league knowing that it is for whites only.
@Malcolm - I bet money that if you asked most white players, they would say they don't want a separate league...it would bruise their egos (like Mike said)...
@Candy - Yeah, me too. As if "fundamental" and "all-american" are exclusive.
@Josh - I agree with you on the fact of this being crybaby madness...I however do believe the concept is steeped in racism.
@Sandy - trippin' indeed.
@Mike - I forgot about that Larry Bird quote. I bet he would have a huge problem with this league.
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