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Halifax Rainmen, who forfeited National Basketball League of Canada final, are bankrupt
Just as a sage hoops fan can make a travelling call from the mezzanine, the National Basketball League of Canada's unravelling could also be called from a month away. Two months removed from the forfeit fiasco that eradicated Game 7 of the NBLC's final and led to heavy fines for Halifax Rainmen coaches and players, the Halifax team has declared bankruptcy.
No, I did not see this coming either.
“I am incredibly proud of what the Halifax Rainmen have accomplished over the past eight years, bringing world-class basketball to a city that we’ve been proud to call home,” [Rainmen owner Andre] Levingston said in [a media release] release.
“While it’s disappointing to see this chapter end, I can hold my head high knowing that we did everything we could have done. I love this game and I love this city.”
The Halifax Rainmen was founded in 2006 and began with the American Basketball Association in 2007-2008 before joining the Premier Basketball League (PBL) in 2008. It has been part of the NBLC since 2011.
“The Halifax Rainmen and Andre Levingston have worked tirelessly to help build our wonderful league,” said David Magley, NBLC Commissioner in a release.
“I am personally confident that there will be an NBLC team in the great city of Halifax and that a team will play this season (2015-16).”
The release had no specific information on whether a team would continue under new ownership. (Metro Halifax)
That's two teams to have bit the dust since the end of the season, since the Mississauga Power ceased operations after the Toronto Raptors placed a development team in the suburban city. The NBLC has the new Niagara River Lions and a potential team in Sydney, N.S., to replace the Rainmen.
It is tough to resist the conclusion that Halifax was basically fined into oblivion. Saddest of all, the dignity and welfare of the Rainmen players, such as former Saint Mary's Huskies standout Joey Haywood, really gets ignored. No one should feel forced to perform while worrying about being in physical jeopardy outside the boundaries of the playing surface and for a myriad of reasons, that NBLC couldn't make that happen on April 30.
It is hard to imagine a minor pro basketball league that operates in the Maritimes and Ontario being without a franchise in a hub city such as Halifax, which is also the basketball hub of its region.
Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @naitSAYger.
