Funding snub ‘a complete kick in the guts’

Kiwi basketball boss Iain Potter has slammed Sport New Zealand’s funding snub of his hybrid national men’s league, accusing the organisation of ‘‘historical and institutional bias’’ over a decision that is a ‘‘kick in the guts’’ for everyone associated with the code.

Potter, who is chief executive of Basketball NZ and chairman of the board of the NBL it owns, said he could barely sleep so angered was he when he learnt that the league was being bypassed in Sport NZ’s $4.6 million Covid-19 financial relief package.

The funding round, the first release of investment from the $265m Sport Recovery Package announced last month as part of Budget 2020, is designed to aid professional sports in New Zealand in immediate need of assistance.

Three professional or semiprofessional domestic sporting leagues that are starting up this month in the wake of major disruption that has been caused by the

Covid-19 pandemic – netball’s ANZ Premiership, basketball’s NBL and Super Rugby Aotearoa.

Netball has received $2.2m in funding to cover its league, rugby $1.25m and basketball – the fastest growing and second most popular sport among Kiwi high school students – got zero.

Potter said he was dumbfounded as to why his sport was left out in the cold when he thought it had presented a legitimate case for support.

‘‘Netball got $2.2m. We only asked for the $0.2m. But we got nothing,’’ an exasperated Potter told Stuff.

‘‘It’s a complete kick in the guts for basketball as a sport and a community. What message is it sending to every kid out there about the value of their sport? We’re bitterly disappointed with the decision to leave basketball out.

‘‘There is an historical and institutional bias in play here. It’s an unconscious bias. We’re just not in front of mind in the decision-making space.’’

Sport NZ’s explanation was that basketball’s NBL did not meet its criteria for support. But Potter could not accept that given the league, which will be run over six weeks at a single Auckland venue starting on June 23, was almost identical to netball’s competition.

‘‘There are three domestic leagues commencing in June this year and one of them has been left out in the cold, and it’s a cracking national league that’s been around for 39 years and it’s just not right,’’ added Potter. ‘‘The pressure on the NBL to pay the bills is immense and this has provided no relief whatsoever.’’