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ABA to return to San Francisco this season

July 23, 2007 - American Basketball Association (ABA) News Release


Indianapolis, IN. The American Basketball Association (ABA) today announced that a team will play in San Francisco this season. According to Joe Newman, "We are very pleased to be returning to San Francisco and are especially pleased with the extraordinary person who will be operating the team. Damone Hale is an SF-based attorney with a remarkable background and a deep understanding of what it will take to make a successful team. We couldn't be happier. He embodies everything the ABA is all about."

"Growing up in Compton, California, like other young boys, I participated in sports to escape the social ills plaguing inner-city communities (poverty, crime, drugs, etc), stated Hale. "Sports provided me with the foundation to pursue my education with unflinching commitment, determination and execution. Currrently, I am in private practice specializing in criminal defense. In 2005, I ended 14-year employment as Chief Counsel for the Community Defenders office located in the Bayview Hunters district of San Francisco. In May of 200, in response to the drive-by killing of two popular young men, I co-founded the PeaceGames Project."

He continued, "PeaceGames integrates high quality athletics with violence prevention and academic support services. Parents are assisted by the positive adult-mentor volunteers who conduct violence prevention and academic skills development workshops. Recently we created a successful adult basketball league - PeaceHoops Late Nite - for unemployed, under-employed and/or school dropout men ages 17-34 - and partnered with the San Francisco Police Department Bayview Station."

"I am humbled by this opportunity to bring ABA professional basketball to San Francisco. The key to SF's success will lie in our ability to win and maintain community support. Those that would represent this organization now and in the future will carry with them pride in knowing that the game they are attempting to win is the game of life for themselves, their families, our community - and every boy growing up in the Comptons and Bayviews wanting to escape the social ills that continue to plague us," added Hale.

"Watch out ABA, San Francisco will draw on the rich tradition and talent throughout the Bay Area. We have fielded teams with a rainbow flavor - Samoan, Filipino, Latino, African-American, Asian - and we will do the same with our new ABA team!," he concluded in his initial announcement.

Mr. Hale received his B.A. and M.P.A. from California State University and his J.D. from the Kendrick School of Law at the University of San Francisco. He is the former Comissioner of the Juvenile Probation Commisson in San Francisco, former Presiding Judge for the San Francisco Youth Court, Inc, on the Advisory Panel of La Raza Central Legal, the Homeless Advocacy Program for the San Francisco Bar Association and has been the recipient of numerous awards for his community efforts.

For more information, call 415 368 8702 or email dhale2323@yahoo.com. Information about tryouts, website, opportunities, etc., will be announced shortly. Or visit www.abalive.com.

Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.



American Basketball Association Stories from July 23, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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