Pelham Park Teams Champs at J4A Tourney Against Police Brutality

by Elijah Whitaker
Basics #11 (November 2008)

‘Pelham Park Young Set’: The Youth Division's championship team of the Justice for Alwy Basketball tournament. From left to right: Rushown, J.R., Gordel, Daniel, and Marvin.

‘5 Point’: The Adult Division's championship team of the Justice for Alwy Basketball tournament. From left to right: Richard Campbell, (non-player), P-Nise, East-Ca$h, & Bravo.

On September 13, 2008 the Justice for Alwy Campaign held its first ever Annual 3-on-3-Basketball Tournament. ‘The 1st Annual Justice for Alwy 3-on-3-Basketball Tournament’ was borne out of community concerns over police brutality – namely after Alwy al-Nadhir, an unarmed Toronto youth, was shot and killed by Toronto Police last Halloween. Out of this tragedy, Alwy’s family, friends, and other local community organizers saw the need to get organized to put an end to the siege on our communities. Together, they created the Justice for Alwy Campaign Against Police Brutality.

The Tournament was held at Carlton Park, located in the south west side of the city near Symington and Dupont. Teams registered from all over the city, including teams from Pelham Park, Jane and Finch, Markham, Scarborough, Regent Park and many more areas throughout the city. With players, spectators, volunteers and organizers, the event drew over 100 people. And despite the pouring rain and a slippery court, the tournament saw high-level competition and intense games, accompanied with music and a BBQ to top it off.

As for the tournament itself, teams from Pelham Park dominated both the adult and youth divisions. In the youth division, Pelham Park Young Set went undefeated throughout the entire tournament. With stellar performances from Gordel, Rushown, Daniel, J.R, and Marvin, they were able to tear through the competition eventually beating neighbourhood counterparts Clinton, Pedro, and Squid of Triple Threat in the finals.

In the adult division, another team representing Pelham Park went undefeated. 5-Point, which consisted of Richard Campbell, East Ka$h, P Nise and Bravo proved to be too much for the adult division, beating another local team Trend-Setters (Chevy X, Marbles, Prince, Kevin Campbell, Kris Neptune ) in the finals.

Congratulations to both teams!

Basketball aside, the political purposes of the event itself - uniting to express our opposition to police brutality - was not lost. Being at the event, it was clear from the discussions many of the youth were having that there are serious tensions between many youth and Toronto police. The frustration was palpable – many expressed discontent over the overall policy of community policing, many exchanged experiences about the daily harassment, false arrests, brutal beatings and verbal confrontations many have with the police.

Community concerns over police brutality and racial profiling are, of course, not new to the city. The Black Action Defence Committee has been organizing around the issue of police brutality for a number of years, and with the recent police killings of Freddy Villanueva, Alwy al-Nadhir, Byron Debassiege and the 2004 murder of Jeoffrey Reodica, the already frayed relationship between youth and the police might be worsening.

In the end, organizers thought the event was a great success and are excited about next year’s tourney.

‘Trendsetters’: The Adult Division's 2nd place team. Marbles, Prince, Chevy X, and Kevin Campbell, and Kris Neptune.

‘Triple Threat’: The Youth Division's 2nd place team. From left to right: Pedro, Clinton, and Squid.

Justice for Alwy B-Ball Tournament - Saturday, Sep 13, 2008

Register Now for the Justice for Alwy basketball tournament!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
On Saturday, September 13, the Justice for Alwy campaign against police brutality will be holding its first annual Justice for Alwy 3-on-3 basketball tournament. The tournament will consist of two separate divisions: "16 and under" and "17 and over". Proof of age will be necessary to compete in the "16 and under" division. First prize for the tournament will be $500 for the "17 and over" Senior division and at least $150 for the "16 and under" Junior division.

Registration cost is $50 per team for the Senior Division, and $25 per team for the junior division (a maximum of 5 players per team). The event will be held in Carlton Park, which is two blocks west of Symington and one block north of Dupont.

Registration deadline is September 5 - and the number of teams allowed to compete is limited, so register now!

Contact justiceforalwy@gmail.com to register or call 647.202.0805. Or join the Justice for Alwy Facebook group, and see the Justice for Alwy B-Ball Tournament Event in that group.


Organized by: The Justice for Alwy Campaign Against Police Brutality, Basics Community Newsletter, and the Hood to Hood Movement

NBA SuperSonics Going To Oklahoma Because More Public Funds to Subsidize Private Profits

Basics Issue #9 (May 2008)


It was 1967 when the Seattle SuperSonics made their NBA debut in the rainy west coast U.S. city. Over the years NBA greats like Lenny Wilkins, Jack Sikma, Xavier McDaniels and of course the famous 1990’s duo of Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp would become synonymous with the Sonics franchise. Forty-one years and a championship later they have become a part of the pop culture of Seattle, a recreational outlet for generations of Seattle working people who have supported the team emotionally and of course, economically.

While many of the people of Seattle have embraced the Sonics over the years, it’s a loyalty that wasn’t to be returned by NBA Commissioner David Stern and the Sonic’s private ownership groups. With the Sonics now due to be moved out of Seattle either this coming season or within the next two years at the latest (pending court disputes), a whole generation of fans is discovering that what they thought was an entertaining escape from the grind of daily life is yet another opportunity for the rich to get richer, or punish the world trying.

The basic problem is the corporate model of most professional sports franchises that predominates in North America. It’s a model whereby private owners expect to have their private profits subsidized through public tax money. If the city councillors or other local politicians (rightfully) refuse such a ridiculous but all too common arrangement, the owners threaten to move the team elsewhere, and every now and then that threat is carried out as a collective punishment on a city that stands its ground protecting public funds.

This is the situation Seattle fans have found themselves in. The recent chapter started in 2001 when the Sonics were purchased by Howard Schultz, the billionaire magnate of the Starbucks empire and infamous supporter of Israel’s racist militarism. Despite tax payers forking over $100 million for a new arena in 1995, Schultz held the city of Seattle hostage to a demand for a new $220 million renovation that he felt the public should again pay. When this was refused, NBA commissioner David Stern began making noises about moving the team (despite it being one of the NBA’s most successful franchises) out of Seattle.

It was a threat he shamefully intended to make good on. In 2006 the NBA approved the sale of the Sonics to an Oklahoma City based business group headed by Clay Bennett, a personal friend of David Stern’s. Despite empty public statements about making a good faith effort to keep the team in Seattle, the ransom was now raised to a new $500 million arena (again to be paid for publicly, but to be privately owned and to price out many of the working class fans). With this absurd demand also refused (the fact is the whole franchise itself had only been purchased for $350 million), Stern and Bennett then pushed through NBA approval to move the franchise to Oklahoma in order to send a message to sports fans throughout North America: if you refuse to publicly-subsidize the private profits of these team owners, your team could be next. Of course, the one reply they aren’t expecting in return, is perhaps the one ordinary working sports fans should most consider: it’s time to stop getting screwed and demand affordable cultural entertainment through not-for-profit publicly-owned teams, like the Green Bay Packers and Saskatchewan Roughriders. ∗