Opinion: Why a professional sports team in Alberta is speaking up for Canada

AS PRINTED IN TOMORROW’S CALGARY HERALD (in compliance with Elections Alberta guidelines)

On October 19th, Albertans will be asked a fundamental question about the future of our province and its place in Canada.

As one of the owners of the Calgary Surge, I have decided to do something unprecedented for our organization: publicly encourage our fans, our community, and Albertans to vote Option 1: Alberta should remain a province of Canada.

I recognize how unusual this is.

Sport should be a sanctuary from the constant noise of politics. People come to the arena to cheer, compete, laugh, and belong. They shouldn't have to agree on politics to stand together behind a team.

I believe that. I also believe there are moments when an organization has a responsibility to explain what it stands for and why.

The Surge exists because we believe in community, opportunity, and Canadian pride. We are proud members of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, a national professional league with 10 teams reaching from coast to coast to coast. Our business depends on people moving, working, competing, and building relationships across Canada.

We recruit players, coaches, and staff from across Canada and around the world, asking them to make Alberta home and represent Calgary. We bring Canadian talent together with international competition, play the Canadian national anthem at every home game, and have taken the game beyond Calgary to communities including Red Deer, Lethbridge, and Saskatoon. We have also helped bring the first professional basketball game to Canada’s North.

We are proudly Calgarian, proudly Albertan, and proudly Canadian. This past season, we intentionally placed the Canadian flag on all our retail apparel because that identity is part of who we are.

We also recognize that some members of our community may disagree with our position, including those who support Alberta separating from Canada. They are part of our community too, and we respect their right to make their voices heard. But we think it is important that they understand why the Surge exists, what we value, and what brought this team to life.

Our identity as a Canadian sports organization is not a campaign slogan. It is part of who we are and the foundation on which this product was built.

Professional sport has a unique role in public life. A team can represent a city, while connecting it to a national community. It can create a shared experience among people who otherwise might have little in common. That does not mean every team should take a position on every political question. It does mean that, on occasion, the values and relationships that make professional sport possible are worth standing up for.

Our fans are more than people who buy tickets. They are neighbours, parents, business owners, students, and community leaders. Together, they help shape the places we call home. We believe civic participation is part of that responsibility.

So we are asking our fans to make their voice heard, and vote Option 1 on October 19th.

Visit https://www.elections.ab.ca/ for official information about the referendum and how to participate.

If this campaign is your first introduction to the Calgary Surge, welcome. We are a basketball team, but we are also an Alberta-based business with a national outlook and a deep commitment to the communities that make our work possible.

I understand the risk of speaking publicly on a divisive issue. But I also believe silence is a choice.

The Surge is not becoming a political organization. We intend to remain what we have always been: a team that believes sport can bring people together and that the communities and country we represent are worth investing in.

Some things are bigger than the game. For us, Canada is one of them.

Jason Ribeiro, Ph.D., is the Co-Chairman & President of REAL Entertainment & Culture Inc. and the 2x Western Conference Champions, Calgary Surge Professional Basketball Club.