BBC Bans all-tall Basketball Matches

From the Telegraph

The BBC is to ban all-tall basketball matches and insist that at least one jockey is included in every line-up, the corporation’s head of television has announced.

Danny Cohen said playing a match without a jockey on the team was “not acceptable” any longer. The new rules will apply to all basketball matches broadcast.

Jockeys have complained of the ‘heightist’ culture in such matches. Frankie Dettori said “high passes between tall players" made it difficult for jockeys to get a crack at the ball.

Pat Eddery and Tony McCoy have also been critical, with McCoy claiming: “A lot of matches are dominated by tall players, because they rely on tipping balls into baskets, or blocking each others shots, which is not generally a very jockey-like thing.”

A report commissioned by the BBC in 2012 singled out the Boston Celtics and LA Lakers for having only “token shortarses” on their teams. In December last year, the BBC Trust tasked management with putting more shortarses on screen as “a matter of urgency”. As a result, the BBC’s entertainment controller, Mark Linsey, has told basketball teams there is “just no excuse for delivering all-tall player team lists”.