Meet the Los Angeles Feminist Amateur Basketball League

Effie "The London Tower" Ralli, the 25-year-old co-founder of the Los Angeles Feminist Amateur Basketball League (L.A.F.A.B.L.), is holding up a megaphone, cheering on teams from the sidelines, as a cassette player blasts "Cotton-Eyed Joe" in the Lake Street Community Center in Los Angeles. 

This is where the tipoff for the 5th season of L.A.F.A.B.L. takes off, a league Ralli formed with her close friend, Aerienne "Hustle Your Bustle" Russell, 25, who started the league after playing one-on-one at their local park.

The duo wanted to invite their friends, and at first they started a weekly game, then it turned into a weekly league, until one day they were playing around with acronyms for the month-long league, and somehow, says Russell, "We came up with L.A.F.A.B.L. because we are all so laughably amateur at basketball."

It is important for Russell and Ralli to include the word "feminist" in the title of the league because they wanted to be inclusive to all people, regardless of gender identity. "I know a lot of women don't feel confident or comfortable playing sports, especially a sport that they've never played before, so creating a feminist sports league has an implication of inclusiveness, not judgement," says Russell who is dancing on the sidelines, while keeping score during a game. 

Watch our video on LAFABL below: