Basketball league for white Americans targets Augusta
By Billy Byler| Staff Writer
A new professional basketball league boasting rosters made up exclusively of white Americans has its eyes set on Augusta, but the team isn't receiving a warm welcome.
Sign up for breaking news alerts from The Chronicle
The All-American Basketball Alliance announced in a news release Sunday evening that it intends to start its inaugural season in June and hopes Augusta will be one of 12 cities with a team.
"Only players that are natural born United States citizens with both parents of Caucasian race are eligible to play in the league," the statement said.
Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver, who has publicly expressed his support for minor league teams in the past, said he would not do the same for this team.
"As a sports enthusiast, I have always supported bringing more sporting activities to Augusta," he said. "However, in this instance I could not support in good conscience bringing in a team that did not fit with the spirit of inclusiveness that I, along with many others, have worked so hard to foster in our city."
Clint Bryant, athletic director at Augusta State University, laughed when he heard the news.
"It's so absurd, it's funny, but it gives you an idea of the sickness of our society" he said. "It shows you what lengths people will go to just to be mean-spirited. I think at any basketball level, no matter if it's all black, all white, all Hispanic, all Asian or anyone else, the players should just be a basketball team."
Don "Moose" Lewis, the commissioner of the AABA, said the reasoning behind the league's roster restrictions is not racism.
"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. Lewis said he has yet to hear from any one in Augusta.
"We need a local person ingrained into the community to make this successful," he said.
Lewis said he expects to eventually find support in every town with a team.
"People will come out and support a product they can identify with. I'm the spoken minority right now, but if people will give us a chance, it'll work... The white game of basketball, which is essentially a fundamental game, works."
Lewis said he wasn't sure where the team will play.
Augusta has had problems with minor league basketball teams in the past, but the issues never centered around race. The Augusta Drive lasted less than a month before folding in 1995, citing financial reasons. The Augusta Groove made it through a full, 20-game schedule in 2009, but accusations from players and local businesses that the team wasn't paying its bills surrounded the team during the second half of the season. The team later shut down in the offseason.
All White Basketball League
Moderator: Gregg Popabitch
All White Basketball League
- Positive A
- Posts: 12600
- Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2004 2:13 am
- Location: :ohcanada:
Re: All White Basketball League
i sincerely wouldn't mind doing a small bid in exchange for this motherfucker's lifean-also wrote:Basketball league for white Americans targets Augusta
By Billy Byler| Staff Writer
A new professional basketball league boasting rosters made up exclusively of white Americans has its eyes set on Augusta, but the team isn't receiving a warm welcome.
Sign up for breaking news alerts from The Chronicle
The All-American Basketball Alliance announced in a news release Sunday evening that it intends to start its inaugural season in June and hopes Augusta will be one of 12 cities with a team.
"Only players that are natural born United States citizens with both parents of Caucasian race are eligible to play in the league," the statement said.
Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver, who has publicly expressed his support for minor league teams in the past, said he would not do the same for this team.
"As a sports enthusiast, I have always supported bringing more sporting activities to Augusta," he said. "However, in this instance I could not support in good conscience bringing in a team that did not fit with the spirit of inclusiveness that I, along with many others, have worked so hard to foster in our city."
Clint Bryant, athletic director at Augusta State University, laughed when he heard the news.
"It's so absurd, it's funny, but it gives you an idea of the sickness of our society" he said. "It shows you what lengths people will go to just to be mean-spirited. I think at any basketball level, no matter if it's all black, all white, all Hispanic, all Asian or anyone else, the players should just be a basketball team."
Don "Moose" Lewis, the commissioner of the AABA, said the reasoning behind the league's roster restrictions is not racism.
"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. Lewis said he has yet to hear from any one in Augusta.
"We need a local person ingrained into the community to make this successful," he said.
Lewis said he expects to eventually find support in every town with a team.
"People will come out and support a product they can identify with. I'm the spoken minority right now, but if people will give us a chance, it'll work... The white game of basketball, which is essentially a fundamental game, works."
Lewis said he wasn't sure where the team will play.
Augusta has had problems with minor league basketball teams in the past, but the issues never centered around race. The Augusta Drive lasted less than a month before folding in 1995, citing financial reasons. The Augusta Groove made it through a full, 20-game schedule in 2009, but accusations from players and local businesses that the team wasn't paying its bills surrounded the team during the second half of the season. The team later shut down in the offseason.
Nets 2022
-
- Posts: 13774
- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 10:18 am
- Location: boston
- Contact:
-
- Posts: 4275
- Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2004 8:41 pm
-
- Posts: 3269
- Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 7:15 am
- Location: LBC raised/LA is where I stay
-
- Posts: 3720
- Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2006 2:38 am
- Location: Bible Belt Misery
- Contact:
-
- Posts: 3269
- Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 7:15 am
- Location: LBC raised/LA is where I stay
-
- Posts: 4275
- Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2004 8:41 pm
[img]http://freddyflores.com/practice1/freddy/rush-limbaugh.jpg[/img] wrote:this is a pretty interesting idea, if it weren't for the liberal media i bet this league could have actually become quite successful. unfortunately all the blacks are gona freak out and ruin everything for the rest of us like they always do.
-
- Posts: 3051
- Joined: Sat Mar 07, 2009 7:45 pm
- Location: behind the pc at my mom's house
- Contact:
-
- Posts: 4275
- Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2004 8:41 pm
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/weI0YJDXLww&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/weI0YJDXLww&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
When people think of Providence, Rhode Island they typically think of organized crime
-
- Posts: 4275
- Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2004 8:41 pm
-
- Posts: 3269
- Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 7:15 am
- Location: LBC raised/LA is where I stay
-
- Posts: 4275
- Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2004 8:41 pm
-
- Posts: 273
- Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 7:44 pm
- Location: Pittsburgh, PA
- Contact:
-
- phila HR Champ
- Posts: 21623
- Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2007 12:58 pm
- Contact:
-
- I'll Just STFU Now!
- Posts: 9178
- Joined: Sat May 22, 2004 2:01 am
- Contact:
-
- Ghetto Revivalist
- Posts: 10965
- Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2004 1:50 am
-
- Posts: 3269
- Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 7:15 am
- Location: LBC raised/LA is where I stay
Hypothetical question here - What current white dudes in the NBA would be AABA all-stars if they were to make the jump?
Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitski are not allowed since they are foreigners. Nash is Canadian, but he was born in South Africa. Rules said that you have to be born in America.
PG - Luke Ridenour
SG - Mike Miller
SF - Mike Dunleavy
PF - Troy Murphy
C - Chris Kaman
Opposing Team
PG - Kurt Hinrich
SG - Kyle Korver
SF - Luke Walton
PF - Nick Collison
C - Spencer Hawes
I might have missed some cats, but this would be a boring ass game if it was put together. The world needs black people to keep it interesting. Out.
Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitski are not allowed since they are foreigners. Nash is Canadian, but he was born in South Africa. Rules said that you have to be born in America.
PG - Luke Ridenour
SG - Mike Miller
SF - Mike Dunleavy
PF - Troy Murphy
C - Chris Kaman
Opposing Team
PG - Kurt Hinrich
SG - Kyle Korver
SF - Luke Walton
PF - Nick Collison
C - Spencer Hawes
I might have missed some cats, but this would be a boring ass game if it was put together. The world needs black people to keep it interesting. Out.
- Positive A
- Posts: 12600
- Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2004 2:13 am
- Location: :ohcanada:
-
- Posts: 4275
- Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2004 8:41 pm
-
- phila HR Champ
- Posts: 21623
- Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2007 12:58 pm
- Contact:
-
- Posts: 3269
- Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 7:15 am
- Location: LBC raised/LA is where I stay
Hey I made my list on the fly. You are calling me a faggot, but you have the ultimate faggot, "The Purple One" making a song about your beloved Vikings. Major on that one.keL wrote:way to ommit k love, faggot
Brent "Bones" Barry just retired this year. He's the only white dude that ever won a dunk contest in the NBA. If they had a white dude dunk contest, it would be the most non-athletic dunk contest in the history of dunk contests.Dunnnnleavy wrote:think they'll have a white guy dunk contest?
Are there any better options? White Chocolate? Travis Deiner? Chris Quinn? Slim pickings amongst the yt's.Positive A wrote:Big Breeze wrote: PG - Kurt Hinrich