Due to a controversial decision by ACPBL Commissioner, James Schultz, the Tru Hope Trailblazers have been removed from the ACPBL and will not be allowed to defend their 2010-11 title. The decision was made Sunday, December 11th, after the Trailblazers were unable to attend their scheduled game against The Enterprise based out of Philadelphia, PA. The initial game time was scheduled for 7:00 pm on Saturday, December 10th. On Tuesday of that week, Commissioner Schultz changed the start of the game from 7:00 to 2:00 pm. Due to the change many of the Trailblazers’ players were unable to adjust their work schedules in order to attend the game. The Trailblazers were left with only three available players who were able to make the almost six-hour road trip.
The Trailblazers’ head coach, Emory Addison, called to inform Commissioner Schultz of the difficulties that the team was having in making the trip and wanted to inquire about the possibility of playing the game on another day. After finally reaching the commissioner via email, the Trailblazers were informed, after much back and forth, that missing the game would be unacceptable. The Trailblazers were unable to make the game as scheduled and the commissioner made the decision to remove them from the league. He announced his decision to both the team and the league through the ACPBL website. The Trailblazers were replaced by the Center Court All Stars, a team owned by Calvin Brown and based out of the Washington DC area. The Enterprise, the team that the Trailblazers were scheduled to play, disagreed with the decision and ultimately decided the leave the ACPBL as well.
Despite the setback, head coach Emory Addison is optimistic about the team’s future moving forward. The players were offered the possibility of joining other teams and each player decline that option and decided to stay with the team. The organization has been able to find replacement teams to play in order to fulfill the home games that they had sold season tickets for. The schedule will be comprised of some local teams, some American Basketball Association (ABA) teams, and some Premier Basketball League (PBL) teams. Although, the organization is open to exploring joining another league in the future, their ultimate goal remains to become an NBA Developmental League franchise. The organization has maintained positive relationship and has held exploratory conversations with Dan Reed, president of the D-League, concerning that possibility. The organization is optimistic that they can obtain the necessary sponsorships needed to ultimately obtain that goal in the near future.
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