By Simone Fox Koob, The Age
‘Unrealistic’ restrictions has forced the cancellation of a major annual summer basketball tournament in Melbourne, the South Sudanese Australian National Basketball Association has said.
In a post on Facebook, the association wrote that its two largest annual events – the National Classic in July and Summer Slam in December – were unable to go ahead this year following the negative portrayal of their community in the media.
“The African youth issues that were widely covered in the media for the last few years has affected the hosting of our tournaments… We have struggled to get stadiums to host the tournaments,” the statement from the board read.
“When we got a stadium, unrealistic barriers were put in the way so that the event was not held. Stadium managers are afraid to host our event because of the African gang stories they see in the news. Some of our partner organisations have also had concerns towards our event because of the fear that has been created.
“The actions of a few teenagers in the community are being unfairly used to stereotype the vast majority that are doing the right thing.
The board wrote that the tournaments had been held for 15 years and were “a huge part of the solution towards youth problems” and it was “counterproductive not to have them”.
A spokesman from Basketball Victoria confirmed tight restrictions – which are not demanded for other basketball tournaments in the state – were placed on the Summer Slam.
“Due to external restrictions placed on the event, the South Sudanese National Basketball Association was unable to accommodate these demands and subsequently host the 2018 Summer Slam,” a spokesman said.
“This unfortunately was unable to come to fruition due to the severity of external restrictions placed on this event.”
The spokesman said the restrictions included notifying surrounding residents of the event, paying for buses to get all participants in and out of the venue, maintaining restricted day-time hours, and creating plans to avoid a build up of crowd numbers.
“These are requirements scarcely demanded for other Victorian basketball tournaments and rarely required throughout the entirety of the sporting community,” a Basketball Victoria spokesman said.
Last year, it emerged that a wild party at an Airbnb was at a property rented by girls who had attended last December’s Summer Slam basketball tournament, organised by the SSANBA.
Two years earlier a man was stabbed at Kananook train station after a fight that started in the car park of Frankston Basketball Centre during the Summer Slam competition.
In July, then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull declared there was a “real concern about Sudanese gangs” in Melbourne and said colleagues had backed claims that residents were scared to go out to dinner due to street crime.
However, his comments drew angry rebukes from Victoria’s African leaders, who accused Mr Turnbull of using the state’s South Sudanese diaspora as a “political football”.
The National Classic, normally held in July, was cancelled this year after Basketball Victoria carried out a risk assessment process and determined the security and safety protocols were not in line with their standards.
However, the organisation said on Tuesday that it would continue to work with the SSANBA next year to possibly include some teams into the Eltham-Dandenong Tournament in January.
Last year’s Summer Slam was held at Eagle Stadium in Werribee, however, the Wyndham City Council stated after the event it would not be held at the same venue this year after complaints from residents.
Wyndham City Council mayor Peter Maynard has been contacted for comment.
