The National Basketball League’s most recent crises have drawn several conclusions from the game’s heavy-hitters. The respective captains of the two rebel clubs clearly don’t do decorum, with Mark Worthington labelling Basketball Australia “idiots” who “killed our game”, and Chris Anstey describing the league as a “piece of crap.”
Victorian Sports Minister James Merlino, who prior to this month’s announcement of a new basketball complex at Knox had never shown any great interest in basketball, suggested the prospect of a national league without Victorian representation was “a joke.”
“Basketball’s dead”, meanwhile, has become a cliché within sporting discourse, particularly from those who conveniently become instant experts whenever the game hits troubled times, in the same way as people becoming racing aficionados when the spring carnival arrives.
Beyond the emotion and hyperbolic ignorance, however, is the realisation that basketball can simply no longer tolerate the perils of private ownership.
Too often an entire sport – which comprises hundreds of thousands of participants, supporters, sponsors, administrators and volunteers – has been dragged through the mud by the self-serving agendas of one or two individuals.
The fraudulence of former Sydney Kings owner Tim Johnston epitomised the risks of private ownership, as did the more innocent troubles of Eddy Groves.
Now, as basketball has sought unified reform through the establishment of an independent board, the actions of a few owners has once again shattered the game’s perception.
The Adelaide 36ers are perhaps one of the proudest clubs in Australian basketball, with ‘Title Town’ home to the most passion-fuelled, knowledgeable supporters in the country. Yet, when the whole club recently stared death in the face due to its inability to secure a million-dollar bank guarantee, owner Mal Hemmerling showed his commitment by hopping on a big bird for a holiday.
This shows the ludicrous imbalance in the fate of a club under the private ownership model. Consistent crowds, healthy media coverage and a successful on-court history are all rendered irrelevant by the dependence on a sole benefactor.
The South Dragons are a similar story. Mark Cowan was known as one of the most passionate and wealthy owners in the league, yet, according to the grapevine, the whole club has been brought to its knees by minority owner Raphael Geminder’s refusal to support changes which are incongruous with his personal agenda.
Melbourne Tigers owner Seamus McPeake, meanwhile, believes it is impossible to make a profit under the proposed 2009/10 model, and he wouldn’t get out of bed in the morning if there was no prospect of earning a dollar that day.
Cairns and Wollongong, albeit out of necessity, have turned to a more sustainable model of community ownership to lead them into the new age of Australian basketball.
With the Hawks now operating under a not-for-profit board acting in the interests of the club’s members, it is difficult to see them ever withdrawing from the competition because of some personal gripes, or being driven into oblivion by reckless spending.
Ignore the doomsayers; basketball in this country is not dead. The national men’s league is on the cusp of being placed in an induced coma, but the product of elite basketball is too good not to make a full recovery.
All it needs is some tender loving care from people who genuinely love the game.
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