With over 700k members and 150k volunteers, AAU truly serves its motto of “Sports For All, Forever”. But has this motto somewhere declined the quality that the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is providing? At least that is what it seems from Alonzo Mourning’s recently revealed opinion of it. The Black Mamba expressed something similar a few years ago. Appearing on All the Smoke Podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, the former Miami Heat star revealed why he can no longer solely trust AAU for his son, Alijah Mourning’s growth in basketball.

“Doing all the things you need to do to take care of your body is the money, you know? And it starts with AAU basketball. You know, AAU basketball is tainted… It’s tainted by these industries,” he said. The 7x NBA All-Star emphasized AAU has changed significantly from when he played in it.

Further, Mourning expressed how thankful he is that he is there to be in his son’s life. “I got a 14-year-old who’s 6’4, wears a size 16 shoe, and he loves the game, and I’m gonna make sure that he develops his skill level right at this particular age,” he said. But the Hall of Famer also worries that not all the children have parents like him who penetrated their way so deep into the game. However, Alonzo Mourning is not the only NBA star who has pointed out the fault in the current AAU.

Even Kobe Bryant himself had once stated how European players are getting better at fundamentals from a young age. Whereas, AAU is now failing to inculcate the same thing in American players. “It (AAU) doesn’t teach our kids how to play the game at all… They don’t know the fundamentals of the game…” Kobe stated, as per an ESPN article. This is something even Mourning pointed out with an example of Luka Doncic’s success in the NBA.

Apart from this, the former Heat star is also not the only father from the NBA, concerned about his kid in AAU. In fact, the podcast host Matt Barmes had himself expressed his disappointment with the Union.  

The time Matt Barnes said his twins play in “watered down” AAU

Appearing on a podcast episode of Sloane Knows, Barnes recollected AAU had considerably more skilled kids playing in it when he was growing up. He stated the kids who were not the best did not play in AAU but in their local leagues. “The game, now there’s others very, very watered down. I think back when I was growing up, AAU was for the best kids,” he said. 

The former NBA star believes one reason behind AAU’s decline is dads coming up with new teams if their kids are not happy with their ongoing AAU scenario. Moreover, as per Barnes, the Union is now more about making money than teaching the fundamentals of the game.

However, yet another reason for the current state of AAU is said to be a lack of full-time leadership. Notably, the union, as of now, is run by volunteers. So it is clear that in order for AAU to restore its value, the Union needs a defined leadership and maybe less interference by the parents.