Gay Basketball Hooplah
San Francisco group celebrates diversity

The San Francisco Gay Basketball program has seen hundreds of players pass through its doors over the last 19 years -- highly skilled and less skilled; men and women; every race and creed; gay, straight and transgender.

Diversity and inclusion has been one of our program's hallmarks. Throughout this history, though, there has been one amazing constant for whom the group is most thankful -- their founder and perennial leader Tony Jasinski.

Since launching the program in 1986 Jasinski has battled with city officials to get the organization established, developed great relationships with many of those same officials, navigated them through multiple gym locations, showed great care during loss in the community, ran their league for almost nine years and taken great pride in helping make San Francisco Gay Basketball the longest running and most successful Gay hoops program in the world.

 “He is our rock. He is not one of the elite players, as he is the first to admit, so his participation is not a matter of ego. He has been dedicated to helping develop and support younger and less-skilled players and building our community -- often digging into his own pockets to do so,” Said San Francisco Gay Basketball Association Commissioner, Pete Myers.

Jasinski is also a champion of Gay basketball around the world, was elected as an inaugural member of the Chicago Hoops Classic Hall of Fame in 2000, helped support the Gay Games movement as a Treasurer and Board Member of Team San Francisco and as a Delegate to the international Federation of Gay Games.

Anyone can participate when the group meets on Sundays for Open Court Play. Two full-courts accommodate the varied experience players from beginner to college level. Bring a white and dark t-shirt, five-bucks and a good attitude. The group hits the courts from 5-9:00PM. gaybasketball.com