rockin'robin
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MORAVIA, Iowa — It's a Monday night in this small south-central Iowa farm town, and the high school gym is full. There's a buzz in the air. Before long, the stars amble in from a side door — on all fours.
Donkey basketball is alive and well in rural America.
Invented in the 1930s, the "sport" where humans mount the beasts of burden and shoot hoops was seen as affordable Depression-era entertainment. The game morphed through the years into a popular fundraising vehicle for schools and other organizations.
But animal rights groups are crying foul. They contend the donkeys are mistreated by participants and handlers. Pressured by organizations such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, some school districts have canceled individual donkey basketball events and others have banned the spectacles altogether.
Donkey ball proved to be a popular draw in Moravia. The town's population is 680, and there were 600 in the gym.
"My favorite area is the Midwest. Some of these towns, there just ain't nothing to do. When you come to a town like this, it's just really good. Everyone has a good time," said Kenny Schappacher of Ohio-based Buckeye Donkey Ball, which put on the show here.
Donkey basketball is played 4-on-4, usually with local celebrities, school faculty or members of student organizations making up teams. Players wearing helmets but no other padding attempt to maneuver their donkeys up and down the floor during two eight-minute halves. A player isn't allowed to shoot unless he or she is seated on a donkey.
A donkey might buck, or it might duck, causing its rider to slide off. Sometimes, the donkey just decides to lie down.
Players are allowed to dismount and pull a donkey by its lead. The donkeys, of course, are reluctant to budge.
The spills and futile attempts at coaxing uncooperative donkeys prompted laughter and finger-pointing from spectators, who paid $8 at the door. The public-address announcer sprinkled in running commentary encouraging or poking fun at the players.
To the folks in Moravia, the concerns of animal rights activists were irrelevant to their daily life.
"We're just a bunch of good ol' boys and farmers down here in rural Iowa, so we're not too worried about PETA," said Angela Stufflebeam, who organized the event. "I'm more worried about the guys on the donkeys."
As well she should have been. Her daughter, Shelby, suffered a broken collarbone when her donkey threw her a couple minutes into the first game.
Participants sign medical waivers promising to take no legal action against the donkey basketball operator if they get hurt.
FOXNews.com - 'Donkey Basketball' Alive and Well in Rural America - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News
Donkey basketball is alive and well in rural America.
Invented in the 1930s, the "sport" where humans mount the beasts of burden and shoot hoops was seen as affordable Depression-era entertainment. The game morphed through the years into a popular fundraising vehicle for schools and other organizations.
But animal rights groups are crying foul. They contend the donkeys are mistreated by participants and handlers. Pressured by organizations such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, some school districts have canceled individual donkey basketball events and others have banned the spectacles altogether.
Donkey ball proved to be a popular draw in Moravia. The town's population is 680, and there were 600 in the gym.
"My favorite area is the Midwest. Some of these towns, there just ain't nothing to do. When you come to a town like this, it's just really good. Everyone has a good time," said Kenny Schappacher of Ohio-based Buckeye Donkey Ball, which put on the show here.
Donkey basketball is played 4-on-4, usually with local celebrities, school faculty or members of student organizations making up teams. Players wearing helmets but no other padding attempt to maneuver their donkeys up and down the floor during two eight-minute halves. A player isn't allowed to shoot unless he or she is seated on a donkey.
A donkey might buck, or it might duck, causing its rider to slide off. Sometimes, the donkey just decides to lie down.
Players are allowed to dismount and pull a donkey by its lead. The donkeys, of course, are reluctant to budge.
The spills and futile attempts at coaxing uncooperative donkeys prompted laughter and finger-pointing from spectators, who paid $8 at the door. The public-address announcer sprinkled in running commentary encouraging or poking fun at the players.
To the folks in Moravia, the concerns of animal rights activists were irrelevant to their daily life.
"We're just a bunch of good ol' boys and farmers down here in rural Iowa, so we're not too worried about PETA," said Angela Stufflebeam, who organized the event. "I'm more worried about the guys on the donkeys."
As well she should have been. Her daughter, Shelby, suffered a broken collarbone when her donkey threw her a couple minutes into the first game.
Participants sign medical waivers promising to take no legal action against the donkey basketball operator if they get hurt.
FOXNews.com - 'Donkey Basketball' Alive and Well in Rural America - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News