When I initially heard about the idea, I thought it was a joke.

Surely, Don ‘Moose’ Lewis couldn’t be serious when he released a statement — on Martin Luther King weekend, nonetheless — calling for the creation of an all-white basketball league based in Atlanta. The All-American Basketball Alliance hopes to kick off its first season this summer, with teams based in 12 American cities.

Good luck getting a single city to buy into this garbage.

There are requirements to play in the league. The player must be a natural-born U.S. citizen and both player’s parents must be Caucasian.

Lewis, a former wrestling promoter, said he wanted to get back to stressing the fundamentals of hoops as opposed to the street ball that’s being played in the NBA. He went on to cite recent scandals, such as the gun charges against Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, as another reason to start the league.

Lewis claims the roster restrictions are not racist.

“There’s nothing hatred about what we’re doing,” he told the Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle. “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.”

There’s nothing hatred? That doesn’t even make sense. This guy has to be out of his mind.

“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?” Lewis told the Chronicle. “That’s the culture today, and in a free country we should have the right to move ourselves in a better direction.”

A better direction? Setting race restrictions on each roster is not a better direction. It’s segregation.

And does anyone actually feel unsafe at an NBA arena? I’ve been to games at Denver and Dallas recently, and haven’t felt scared about the possibility of Chauncey Billups or Dirk Nowitzki flipping me off.

http://worldonline.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/blogs/entry_img/2010/Jan/21/AP10011605585.jpg
AP Photo: Chauncey Billups was introduced recently at at Colorado men’s basketball game. Be careful, Buffs fans, he might attack you in the stands.

http://worldonline.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/blogs/entry_img/2010/Jan/21/AP100113044968.jpg
AP Photo: Is that Dirk Nowitzki giving a middle-finger salute? Quick, find shelter! Oh wait, nope. It’s just Dirk saluting the fans of Dallas. Sorry, Dirk, since you’re German, you can’t play in the All-American Basketball Alliance. What a travesty!

Numerous big-city papers and blogs are running the story.

This guy is a former promoter, so maybe he just wanted the publicity. When all is said and done, this could be a hoax.

The idea for this league is so asinine that I can’t see anyone taking Lewis seriously after this debacle of a statement.

As always, discuss.