Falls minor basketball seeks new nickname

The Niagara Falls Red Raiders Basketball Association is no more.

The house league and travel basketball association is now known as the Niagara Falls Basketball Association and plans are underway to come up with a new nickname for the association’s teams. The association’s website has also changed to nfba.ca from nfredraiders.com.

“If we are offending one person and if one person doesn’t want to join our club because of our name then the name is not worth it,” association president Matt Orr said.

The Red Raiders name comes from the school teams at Niagara Falls Collegiate Vocational Institute which opened in 1893 and closed in 1988. It originated in 1958 when a vote was held to find a new, more suitable name for the football team, which was previously known as the Speed Boys. After a ballot, Red Raiders was chosen. Basketball teams from NFCVI enjoyed considerable success in the 1950s and 1960s with athletes and teams ending up on the Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame.

Club president Matt Orr had misgivings for a number of years about the nickname and what tipped the scales from thoughts to action for him occurred last year when the association was running a basketball tournament at A.N. Myer and one of the teams from Toronto was made up primarily of Indigenous players.

“There were three teenaged boys who approached me. They weren’t rude or belligerent, they just asked me where the term Red Raiders came from. I couldn’t give them a good answer. I told them we had a high school that used that nickname and the founders of our organization went to that high school and we carried that over. They told me they found it offensive so it was at that moment I thought that if people outside our community are seeing it, we need to do something about it.”

In a letter to the association’s board, Orr explained the historical origins of the name and why the association should stop using it.

“The term Red Raider originates from a period of extreme violence and exploitation. It refers to individuals or groups of Indigenous people who, under immense pressure and duress, raided other Indigenous communities. This was a direct result of settlers placing bounties on the heads of Indigenous people, forcing them to turn against one another in a desperate struggle for survival. This historical context is not one of honour or respect. It is a stark reminder of the devastating impact of colonization and the systemic violence inflicted upon Indigenous communities. Continuing to use this name, regardless of our intentions, perpetuates a painful legacy and disregards the lived experiences of those who have been directly affected by this history. As a community-driven organization, we have a responsibility to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all. We cannot ignore the concerns of those who feel marginalized or hurt by our team name. Our core values of respect, inclusivity, and community service must guide our actions.” 

The board agreed unanimously agreed with him and the nickname was dropped.

“We will come up with some sort of naming contest which will be a fun thing for our community to get behind. I am sure we will have a bunch of creative names put forth and we’ll choose the best three or four or five or six and put them back out to the community to vote,” Orr said. “I don’t have a schedule when we are going to do it because the season has already started and we are rolling but I hope we can get some traction behind it.”

Orr sees the decision as a rebrand and a refresh.

“We have been a bit stagnant for a little while and I think we need to move forward. We are using technology now, our registration is fully online and all that stuff and we are trying to do things more professionally with signing days and having fun with the kids,” he said. “I do believe a little bit of a rebrand was needed.”

When Orr took over as president, he was hoping to build up the number of girls in the association and that is still a work in progress. The association is planning to hold free training sessions on Fridays starting in November and registration details will be online.

“We tried a three-on-three girls house league but we just couldn’t gain traction.”

There are about 30 girls in the association and the highlight of that is a strong under-14 travel team coached by Jerry Naccarato.

“He’s got a good program running and he will be the one running the free training sessions,” Orr said.

The association boasts six teams in its bantam house league and five teams in atom.