Americans can’t believe the name of New Zealand’s national basketball team, with many mistakenly thinking it could be racist
- Americans shocked by New Zealand’s nickname
- Many fans assume that the nickname ‘Tall Blacks’ is racist
- Tweet about the basketball side has gone viral
US basketball fans have expressed shock at the nickname for the New Zealand national basketball team at the World Cup, with many believing the ‘Tall Blacks’ handle is a racist slur.
The Kiwis kept their top 16 hopes alive with a victory over Jordan on Monday night, but all Twitter users wanted to talk about was the name of the squad.
A tweet from governing body FIBA featuring footage from the game went viral after the game when American fans took notice of the caption.
“13 threes in a 52% 3PT shooting,” it read. ‘Tall Blacks caught fire from outside the arc and took their first victory.’
Outraged fans immediately poured into the comments.
American fans have reacted with horror to the nickname for the Kiwi basketball team
“WHO caught fire from behind the arch?!?!?” said one.
“The What Now?” another responded
“Oh, they did, didn’t they?” said a third.
“There’s no way they got rid of the Indians and they’re calling up the Tall Blacks,” said another.
Many basketball fans familiar with the New Zealand basketball team and their nickname happily corrected the Americans.
“America is learning that there is a whole world with its own history,” one user replied.
The answers are why nobody takes the US seriously. Bunch of closed, uneducated assholes over there. Scary things,’ said another.
A large number of New Zealand national teams also share similar titles, including the All Blacks in rugby, the White Ferns in women’s cricket and the both-gender Black Sticks in field hockey.
Many New Zealand sports teams have similar names, after the famous nickname of the New Zealand national rugby union ‘All Blacks’
The All Blacks (pictured performing their pre-game haka before playing against Australia in July) are by far New Zealand’s most popular and successful national teams, which explains why the name of the basketball team is inspired by their name
The New Zealand men’s badminton team even adopted the highly controversial nickname The Black Cocks in 2005, in reference to the sport’s shuttlecock, in an effort to gain publicity and sponsorship.
However, that handle was never adopted for formal use after objections were raised by Kiwis and the International Badminton Federation.
The name All Blacks refers to their uniform, which consists almost entirely of the color.
The rugby side is the pride of the country thanks to the huge popularity of the sport in New Zealand and the fact that the All Blacks have long been regarded as the best in the world.
They chose black as the color because black caps were already awarded to the best athletes in the country in the late 19th century during the team’s infancy.
Black was also an easy color to dye clothes at the time – in the late 1800s – and it also helped highlight the Silver Fern, the national emblem of the Kiwi.
In 2021, New Zealand football considered changing the name of the men’s national football team, fearing that the nickname All Whites would be seen as racist.
The Tall Blacks now have everything to play for at the World Cup as they head into their final group game against Greece.