The initial roster of the league was intended to include teams from twelve cities in the southern U.S.[2] Lewis, who was interviewed by Scott Michaux of the Augusta Chronicle, said that one of the objectives of the AABA was restoring "court sanity" to the game of basketball.
However, in this instance I could not support in good conscience bringing in a team that did not fit with the spirit of inclusiveness that I, along with many others, have worked so hard to foster in our city.
[5] Critics commented on the irony of a whites-only basketball league being announced on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; former NBA star Charles Barkley called the idea of the AABA "blatantly racist.
[2][8] Because of the negative attention toward the league, Don Lewis' nephew Ralph said that the physical address of its Atlanta, Georgia office would not be made public.
[9] Reverend R. L. White, president of the Atlanta chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), described the AABA as "ridiculous" and said "it attempts to set back what we've been trying to do for 100 years."