Donkey Basketball: For the Abuse and Humiliation of the ‘Game’
There are plenty of movies about basketball that will make any true sports fan groan: BASEketball, Space Jam, The Air Up There … but I’d willingly sit through a marathon of those movies before setting foot into a gymnasium that allows “donkey basketball” to take place.
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Donkey basketball is cruel and, just as the name suggests, more ludicrous than anything the movies could ever concoct. During this “sport,” which some schools use as a fundraiser, high school students ride donkeys, and the animals are subsequently dragged, kicked, and punched by participants who have no animal-handling experience. The game sends the message to kids that it’s OK to torment and humiliate those who are weaker than they are. And in order to keep the donkeys from having “accidents” on the court, the animals are often deprived of food and water for hours before the “games.”
Beating, starvation, and thirst—sounds like a ball, right? Yet Streator High School in Illinois plans to hold one of these “games” as a fundraiser next Monday. We’ve already written to the school urging the superintendent to cancel the game and implement a policy against the use of live animals for entertainment. Now we are asking you to urge Streator High School to cancel this barbaric event. If you know of any schools or organizations in your area that intend to host a donkey basketball game, ask them for a permanent ban on the use of live animals for entertainment as well.
Written by Logan Scherer
