When Street Ball Is Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Have Street Balls

Depressing and pathetic barely get at a new craze sweeping America: the banning of basketball hoops and other sports equipment that front onto public streets.

The AP reports from Paulsboro, NJ, via Newsday. Here's a snippet:

Citing safety concerns, communities in Kentucky, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon and Pennsylvania have banned the placement of portable hoops in or around streets. Others are shooting to do the same.

No one, it seems, is against a friendly game of two-on-two.

The problem is that portable hoops have become permanent fixtures, according to municipal officials who say they pose hazards to emergency vehicles, trash trucks and the players themselves.

"We all want to be Mayberry, but no government official can look a parent in the eye and say `It's OK for your children to play in the street,"' said Police Chief Kenneth Ridinger.

Comments

[junyo]

Uh, when we played in the street, we kinda learned to get out of car's way. The decision making process worked a little like this: 4,000 lbs of automobile @ 35-50 mph versus roughly 76 lbs assorted meat, hair, bones, and skin equals "when a car comes, move your ass...". Can someone confirm that this formula still works?

If not, just think of it this way; getting hit is nature's way of saying "You are the weakest link..."

[MP]

According to the article, bans such as this are for hoops "on or next to streets", which means that it would be illegal to put the hoop at the end of my own driveway.

And this sentence sums up the reasons:

"In Paulsboro, residents complained that basketball players were refusing to move from the street when cars drove through, or that the players harassed passing motorists"

Safety my ass.

[joe]

MP,

The end of your driveway is probably located in the public right of way, which usually extends to the rear of the sidewalk or a few feet past the pavement where streets have no sidewalk.

[Douglas Fletcher]

Joe, didn't you ever have any fun when you were a kid? I'm getting a whiff of some kind of puritanism coming off your posts.

[Anonymous]

How about Midnite Basketball then -- when the drivers are asleep. Isn't that a novel idea?

[Brad S]

Oh, yeah. This is a GREAT idea. Let's have the government telling parents, "We don't want your kids playing in the street." So what are these kids going to do? They're going to go and commit crimes on the street.

I'm convinced that a big part of the reason why I'm not in jail today is because I spent enough time playing basketball (very often in the street in front of my home) that it kept me from getting into any kind of serious trouble. I'll give these people a clue - kids have a ton of energy. When we take away all of the positive, constructive things they can do with that energy (like playing basketball), what do we expect kids to do?

[dude]

Why don't we ban playing outside altogether (someone could get hurt!) and stuff the little butterballs in veal pens with a TV and some videogames? As a side-effect, this will grind down their spirits and make them perfect cube drones a few years down the road.

[MP]

What's next, banning stickball? I'm sure that's probably already banned somewhere. Let's go ahead and ban them from playing hopscotch on the sidewalk too. sigh... Kids have been playing in the street since they built the first road.

Why, oh why, do politicians feel the eternal need to "do something"? I used to live in NH. The best part about having a 450 person citizen legislature is that they could never agree on anything so almost nothing got done. However, when they did agree, you couldn't get it undone either.

[Lefty]

The Fun Police strike again. They'll point, of course, to all the public playgrounds located blocks or miles away that the kids can dodge traffic to only to get their ass kicked by some bully they don't even know.

I'm just guessing, but I bet the kids in the upscale cul de sacs aren't bothered by the FP.

[Tom T]

I suggest we take the dude's concept farther and just ban the outdoors altogether. That was no one will ever be hurt again. People really do need to be protected from themselves....

[Brad S]

dude and Tom T: Ban the outdoors! That's a FANTASTIC idea! That way, whenever kids are not in a catatonic, Ritalin-induced trance in our public schools, our government can force them to be in a catatonic, Ritalin-induced trance at home in front of the television soaking up more and more mind-controlling government propaganda!

Come to think of it, government should just ban exercise altogether. Actually, that wouldn't go far enough. Government should ban nature, and everything that goes along with it (human physiology, etc). That way, government could tell us when we're supposed to breath, and when it's okay for our hearts to palpitate. Government could also tell the sun when it is supposed to rise and set. All of these are perfectly acceptable government roles.

[cinquo]

keep fighting for your right to play basketball. that is why the streets were paved in the first place after all! it try to beep my horn before i run you over.

[Brad S]

cinquo - better yet, imagine a world where drivers are free from the peskiness of kids playing in the street. A world where any child who dares go near the street in his residential neighborhood is brutally run-down by a yuppie (such as you) in a Ford Excursion. A world where kids, afraid to go outside and get exercise, are confined to their homes where they play video games and watch TV all day (in between government-mandated Ritalin feedings, of course). Keep fighting for your right to drive like a maniac down residential streets and plow over whatever kids get in your way. After all, those ten seconds of your day are far more important than driving safely on residential streets.

[joe]

OK, libertoids, are you done? Catch your breath, open a cold, and listen up:

The government, like any other property owner, is liable for injuries that occur on its property, if it allows conditions to build up that a reasonable person would consider unsafe. Playing in traffic is unsafe. By telling people that playing in traffic is not allowed, the government is covering its, meaning your, ass and reducing the amount of its, meaning your, dollars that will have to be paid out in lawsuits.

Is it now a libertarian position that property owners don't have the right to prevent people from doing dangerous things on their property?

[cinquo]

actually it is a gass guzzling Ford Explorer and i drive 100 mph listening to Rush and talk radio, specificicaly targeting minorities and poor kids. all on the way to the country club and the gun range where we talk about how to oppress the poor while eating caviar and drinking scotch!

what a hoot! keep fighting for your right to basketball, those kids forced to play in the parks or driveways are more oppressed than palistinians.

[cinquo]

i'll take the bait: buuuutttt joe, its ooooour streets, We the People!

congrats joe on actually making sense on an issue, welcome to the world of SUV fascism. glad I am on the only member of that sinister club.

[joe]

Brad S. puts me to shame. The answer, of course, is that residential streets should be built in a way that they're safe for neighborhood use, as they were in the first half of the century.

[Brad S]

joe - as with anything else in the legal world, there is a line where common sense should kick in. Does it make sense to keep children out of public streets? Yes. Does it make sense to accomplish this (in part) by passing a law that bans basketball on streets outright? I'd like to believe people have enough common sense to solve this issue outside of passing legislation against it, but every day I lose more and more faith in people's ability to solve problems without the nanny-state stepping in. It would be sensible for kids playing in the street to always be aware of any vehicles coming and to move out the way promptly when they do come. It would also be sensible for drivers to slow down when they see kids playing in residential areas. Sadly, sensibility is a rare commodity these days.

From a "property owner liability" standpoint - I would argue that parents who allow their kids to play in the street assume the risks therein. The property owner (in this case, the city) should not necessarily be held liable for risks that others take on said property. For example, if you come on to my front lawn and start juggling chainsaws, is it my fault (the property owner) that you ended up cutting your arm off?

[joe]

I dunno, Brad. The last time someone started juggling chainsaws on your front lawn, did you tell him to stop? Or did allow him to leave his chainsaws on the lawn and allow the neighborhood chainsaw jugglers to use it as their regular performance space?

Drivers should slow down. Children should be aware. But governments and developers should build neighborhood streets in such a way that people like Cinquo can't get their monster trucks over 20mph.

[The Mountain Goat]

Its not paranoia if its really happening. Redirect people from the streets where they have rights to the school playground where they don't. The school, centrally located in a gun free school zone and a drug free school zone. The school, where the supreme Court held that in the interest of safety, we can perform random drug tests.

This isn't about traffic.

[Brad S]

cinquo - well, you need to get an Excursion. It guzzles far more gas than the Explorer, and it has a fender-design that makes it much easier to scrape those minority kids who play basketball in the streets off the front grille. Also, you need to up your speed in residential areas from 100 mph to 110 mph. You would save time every day if you did this. In addition to listening to Rush, you also need to get an Excursion with an in-dash TV and watch Fox News while you drive. Also, you should always be on your cell phone. When you're at the country club and the gun range, in addition to discussing how to oppress the poor, you should also discuss how to ensure that a maximum number of baby seals get clubbed. In addition to eating caviar and drinking scotch, you should add lobster, cracked crab, and mint juleps to the menu.

Geez. What kind of a dirty proletarian are you, anyway?

[david f]

cinquo -

weren't you sitting next to me at the pro acid rain ralley the other day? you remember: i was in the baby seal coat with the spotted owl fringe.

and i think my hummer dinged your explorer. sorry. have some more scotch on me!

cheers,
drf

[Brad S]

joe - if I saw someone juggling chainsaws on my front lawn, I would tell that person to get the #$%^ off my property. The problem is that I, as a property owner, cannot possibly monitor at all times everything that goes on within the bounds of my property. For all I know, someone could be juggling chainsaws on my front lawn right this instant. If he saws his arm off, should I be held liable?

Similarly, the city cannot possibly monitor at all times every act that occurs on city property. Now, of course, that's not to say that the city should not make an effort to monitor certain types of acts that occur on city property (for example, speeding). I submit that to add children playing basketball on residential streets to the already lengthy list of activities monitored (and penalized) by city government simply defies common sense.

[cinquo]

brad, it isn't about kids playing on the streets, it is about them leaving the hoops in the streets. it doens't say anything about banning playing, just about putting large objects into places created for automobile traffic.

at least get your story correct on your crusade for "basketball rights" and the vast right-wing conspiricy against those rights.

[Anonymous]

How much would you parents involved in this debate, be willing to pay for your children to play in a fun,clean and secure basketball facility?

Pls reply

Why is one of the most economical and egalitarian (equal opportunity) forms of athletic recreation homeless?

Any ideas how to solve this?

Pick-up basketball deserves a home doesn't it?

[Jordan]

How much would you parents involved in this debate, be willing to pay for your children to play in a fun,clean and secure basketball facility?

Pls reply

Why is one of the most economical and egalitarian (equal opportunity) forms of athletic recreation homeless?

Any ideas how to solve this?

Pick-up basketball deserves a home doesn't it?

[unsafe hoops]

Kids should play off the street, in their own driveways. If the driveway is sloped or unsuitable for bball, they should have thought of that problem before they bought the house. Parents can also get off their %$^%& behinds and go with their kids to the nearby parks to play. Play all you want, just play off the street.

[unsafe hoops]

Kids should play off the street, in their own driveways. If the driveway is sloped or unsuitable for bball, they should have thought of that problem before they bought the house. Parents can also get off their %$^%& behinds and go with their kids to the nearby parks to play. Play all you want, just play off the street.

[accidental driver]

I know this board's been still for a while, but I have a question to put.

I discovered this page while doing some research online about kids playing in the street, because my boyfriend nearly ran over a two year old riding his tricycle well after dark right on the corner in our neighborhood. The mother freaked and screamed at us about it being our fault.

Obviously, we were nearly as freaked as she was, but I got a little aggro thereafter. I mean, who lets an under-school-age frolic in traffic?

I'm in a situation now where this mother makes a point of having her (very young) children playing in the street after dark every night, just to show she can. And I'm not talking about along the curb, I'm talking middle of the street where they can't get out of my way, and I can't avoid them.

So...I'm actually AGAINST legislating this sort of thing...but when is enough enough? This is not about the courtesy of cleaning up behind yourself (which they don't). This is about almost killing a little kid.

PS - I know it's only indirectly related to this topice, but I've never met anybody who let a 2-yr old play in the street before! I don't know how to react.