Outrageous!

Why is it outrageous Donna? And why is it OK only for minorities to have missions that are exclusive to their racial or cultural status?

I used to go to an annual white trash party in the 90s... it was a blast.. would you have a problem with that?

Come on people.. where's the rest of the post on this entry.. I thought so many of you find political correctness so offensive.. of all the people that post on this blog, I bet you all have an opinion on this subject.. so let it out..

Since I personally believe people should be able to form any type of club they want this gets a pass from me. That's not saying I would go see them play because I wont but that is my choice.

Ever notice how everytime an all white/male something gets started the small special interest groups have a knee jerk reaction to it? Of course while complaining and filing suit everyone ignores how the special interest group is run with almost the exact same standards as the group being opposed.

I actually play in a league like this: It's called "The gym by my house on Tuesdays from 6-8pm." I'm the star of the league.

So... their definition of "white" is "one-drop rule applies"?

My daughter's comment was that if they are so interested in watching the game in its pure form, they should try women's basketball.

I heard they were going to allow African-Americans to play, as long as they don't have that "Negro dialect."

/sarc
(I can't believe I really need to add that part)

What I always wanted. A return to the basketball of slow short white guys throwing up set shots.

Well, Robert, it's "outrageous" because it equates race with a specific type of behavior. As if simply being "white" would prevent anyone participating in the league from engaging in thuggish behavior.

But really, you could create this league with players of any stripe if you enforced a zero-tolerance policy on the behavior you didn't want.

Darrel, nobody's saying they can't do this (I'm assuming it's a real story and not someone's idea of an MLK week prank) but to do it while claiming that's it's necessary to have only whites in order to have a "clean" game is racist and stupid.

Throughout the years, white people have killed far more other white people than black people have. For that matter, they've killed an awful lot of black people, too.

And since I'm an equal opportunity offender:

I bet if Strom Thurmond had been elected president there wouldn't be so many problems in the NBA

but seriously- I'll second what Darrel said

I meant to type "Darrin" in the second part of my comment, but after the second "r" my fingers took over.

I'd be willing to lay some money on this being a hoax. Every news story seems to point back to a "press release" and a story in Augusta. Nobody's seen the guy supposedly in charge of the league, there aren't any links to the organization's web site. There's no verifiable evidence.

Roy Edroso at the Village Voice smells a rat, too.

Shoot...what will the Blazers do without Steve Blake? hehehe

The outrageous part is the implication that black basketball players play a less-wholesome game than white players do. Is he also lumping in non-American white players?

I hope his league fails dramatically and I hope he loses a ton of money in the process.

This league is outrageous, not only prima facie, but because it has failed to make an affirmative defense for its existence that is not racist. This is not the “gym by your house” league that happens to be all of one group due to geography. It named itself the “‘All-American (sic) Basketball Alliance (AABA)” as if people of color were not Americans. The ABBA cannot even purport to have put itself in a “separate but equal” class because of the racist assumption intrinsic to its name and purpose. Its Commissioner speaks of what he calls “fundamental basketball” as though there were something revisionist about racial diversity. ABBA limits eligibility to "(o)nly players that are natural born United States citizens with both parents of Caucasian race.” Heck, this league could give rise to its very own “Birther” movement! I wonder if it is aware that there is a reason the word “Caucasian” includes “asian” and what it would do if natural-born Americans of Mongolian descent sought to participate.

I would be amazed if the founders of ABBA really have never seen a white person give anyone the finger or a white man grab his crotch. Do they seriously think they can get away with claiming such behavior is a product of racially-mixed venues? If so, they obviously they didn’t grow up in the part of Jersey that Jack and I are from. Are they any more likely to have negative interactions in racially-mixed crowds? Well, if they’re being racist, then yes. But that problem is not solved by “fundamental basketball;” it requires diversity training and tolerance. Denying that one is racist proves nothing. Actions speak louder than words but, in this case, both have contradicted the Commissioner's protestations.


It’s a free country. Anyone has the right to organize their own constituency. And critics have the right to protest. I have fewer problems with gatherings that are exclusive when they don’t pretend that they are something they are not. It’s particularly understandable when their ultimate aim is to reduce discrimination, as when it became necessary for women to gather by ourselves to gain an understanding of sexism precisely so we could address it in society. I also have no problem with certain culturally-limited organizations that have to do with exploring, articulating and preserving a cultural identity. But, no matter how much jocks share an identity, it is not a socio-biological one, no matter the physical demands, and it does not require a particular racial profile. Nor are white jocks an institutionally oppressed group in need of a liberation movement. If these guys are determined to play “Whites only” basketball, I would suggest a more accurate name. The “Aryan-American Baseball Association” would allow them to retain the initials “ABBA.” But then they’d have to include Indian-Americans . . .