Further Thoughts On The All-White Basketball League

Earlier today, our own Andrew Sharp linked to a Bomani Jones interview with “Moose” Lewis, the guy who’s trying to start up a whites-only professional basketball league. Andrew (tongue-in-cheek, obviously) referred to Lewis as “heroic champion of fundamentalism fundamental basketball.”

↵And see, that’s the thing. Maybe Lewis wouldn’t step all the way out there and call himself a “hero,” but if you listen to the interview, you come away with the impression that Lewis thinks he is doing something good. He insists that he himself is not racist (Jones, who remains remarkably cerebral and composed throughout the interview, basically lets him off with a “well, whatever” on that point). As evidence of his racial progressivism, he says that he’s worked in boxing and has set up matches involving African-American boxers. Whew! Not racist! Glad that’s settled!

↵This is where things get really amazing: Lewis says that he’s starting an all-white league because he wants a more “fundamental” game. Jones asks him what he means by “fundamental.” Lewis says he doesn’t like players taking five steps to the basket without a dribble, and Jones gives the obvious response: “so if you take out the black people, you’ll take out the traveling?” At this point, and through most of the interview in fact, Lewis is intellectually shook out of his shoes. His logic is so self-defeating and collapses on itself so neatly, and yet this mook sincerely continues to believe that there is nothing reasonably objectionable about an all-white basketball league.

↵And finally, the kicker: Lewis tries to extend an olive branch to Jones. But this is his idea of an olive branch: he promises that after one season, he will pit an all-white team against an all-black team, and promote the game as “Snowball Vs. Bro-ball.” Are...are you reading this? Lewis thinks that not only is this a fantastic idea, but that it will dispel all possible moral objections leveled against himself and his league.

↵Eventually, Lewis retreats to a classic old foxhole: “Well if you don’t like it, don’t go to the games!” At some point in the interview, I stopped being mad at the guy. I just thought, “this guy doesn’t get it. For reasons I am not privy to, he does not and cannot understand.” It’s like getting frustrated at a desk lamp for not knowing how to cook mashed potatoes. It’s futile.