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Will Birmingham play in the Beautiful Ballers League?

March 13, 2013
Three team owners in the Bikini Basketball Association announce they have pulled their teams out of the BBA and will form a new women's basketball league named the Beautiful Ballers League.

Tamara Moore (Minnesota), Rodney Daniels (Atlanta), and Mic Madison II (Orlando) are cofounders of the new league and hope to add teams from Birmingham, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and New York shortly.

The BBA was created in 2012 and will play their first season beginning on June 22nd of this year.

The league had planned to begin with eight teams; the Atlanta Peaches, Chicago Crave, Los Angeles Ice, Miami Spice, Orlando Lady Cats, Minnesota Mist, Illinois Heart, and the Philadelphia Diamonds.

The Bikini Basketball Association's website states they are a basketball league where women will play the games in bikinis. However, they won’t actually be playing in true bikinis as the league’s name suggests. Instead, they’ll wear tight sports bras and spandex shorts, similar to Olympic volleyball or track and field athletes.

The former BBA teams Atlanta Peaches, Orlando LadyCats, and Minnesota Mist hope to be joined by new teams Birmingham Belles, Miami Storm, Brooklyn Diamondz, Los Angeles Dolls, and New Orleans Spirit.

The Eastern Conference teams are Atlanta, Brooklyn, Miami, and Orlando while the Western Conference teams are Birmingham, Los Angeles, Minnesota, and New Orleans.

As the Bikini Basketball Association's organization and focus became more clear, it became increasingly uncomfortable for Moore, Daniels, and Madison to live with. "We wanted to disassociate ourselves with the bikinis. We didn't want that in our name. It had a negative connotation," Moore said.

The three owners weren't the only ones to be uncomfortable with the BBA. Some potential playing venues were turning the league's teams down when they saw the word 'bikini.' Moore's team was having trouble even holding tryouts, as high school officials didn't want to have anything to do with what they thought would be a basketball version of the Lingerie Football League.

According to Moore, the new league seeks to fuse “femininity, beauty, and basketball” in order to harness the “fantasy thought process.” In other words, beautiful women taking jump shots in “fantasy uniforms”. Which may, or may not, be sport bikinis.

The BBL is set to tip off on June 1st and each team will play a 14-game schedule, with playoffs in September.

One reason the BBL might make it is because Reebok, American Airlines, and Premium Energy VIP have already signed on as major sponsors.

There is no television deal yet, and for the first season the league will play mostly in Recreation League and high school gyms.

"We're looking for girls who can actually play basketball. And also be attractive to look at. That's what's going to set us apart," Moore said.

April 10, 2013
A Birmingham man named Florian Starks claims to be the owner of the Birmingham Belles.

Nothing more is known about Starks.

May 23, 2013
With roughly two weeks to go before opening tipoff, the Birmingham Belles are still listed as an inaugural team in the BBL.

May 24, 2013
The very next day, the Birmingham Belles are not listed among the BBL teams. Of the original eight, Birmingham is the only one that has been dropped.

No explanation was given.

June 2013

			2013                          Beautiful Ballers League
xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx
	Atlanta Peaches		Brooklyn Diamondz		Los Angeles Dolls		Miami Storm		Minnesota Mist
	New Orleans Spirit		Orlando LadyCats

June 26, 2013
The Beautiful Ballers League abruptly cancels the remainder of their inaugural season after playing just a few games.

Epilogue
The Beautiful Ballers League returned in 2014 playing a handful of mini-tournaments. Beyond that, nothing more was heard from the BBL.

The Bikini Basketball Association had only a slightly better history. Teams came and went over their two seasons, with some games being dropped. However, the BBA played two seasons, including a championship series each year. The BBA did not return for a 2015 season.

Birmingham Belles logo variations

Beautiful Ballers League logo variation

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Last update: November 09, 2021