The Politics of Basketball

As the native country of its creator, James Naismith, and the location of the very first NBA game in 1946, Canada has deep roots in basketball. And since the first game of the Toronto Raptors in 1995, and their triumphant, game 7 buzzer-beating,  2019 Championship run, Canadian basketball fandom is at an all time high. From driveway basketball nets to Jurassic Park, the Raptors have helped to shape the identity of Toronto and attracted a global fan base.
“We The North” has become a multicultural rallying cry. The sheer diversity of Toronto shines through with fans from all walks of life across every race, religion, and culture. Today's episode explores this idea in more depth and take a closer look at the multicultural identity of the Toronto Raptors fan base and the growing popularity of basketball across Canada, and goes further to talk about the global reach of basketball, influenced and part by the Raptors’ success, and discuss where and how the game is expanding, building new bridges, and becoming more equitable. This episode features two journalists covering the Raptors and basketball at large to talk about this unique intersection between sport, culture, diversity, globalisation, and equality.

Guests:

Oren Weisfeld - Freelance Journalist

Alex Wong - Freelance Journalist

Producers:

Thomas Chan - Junior Producer

Michael Kalaparambath - Junior Producer

Abdullah Naqvi - Junior Producer

Mycala Gill - Executive Producer