Alberta First Nation basketball players to hit court despite referee dispute – Calgary Sun

CALGARY — Young basketball players from a southern Alberta First Nation will be able to play in a tournament this week despite a dispute with a Calgary referee group.

Truman Soop, a coach for two Indigenous teams in the Stampede Showdown tournament, said the kids were devastated when they were told they might not be able to take part.

“I had parents call me and say, ‘my son bought brand new shoes — he was excited to go and he’s crying to me all night,”‘ said Soop, who coaches with the Kainai Basketball Association.

“They broke a lot of these kids’ hearts.”

Read More: https://calgarysun.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/first-nations-basketball-players-to-hit-court-despite-dispute-with-referees/wcm/d46bab80-003e-491d-9916-3d988d86bcf6