Published 10/17/2022, 8:56 AM EDT
The BIG3, founded by hip-hop musician and actor Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz, is now the first black-owned professional sports league. ByBlack and the U.S. Black Chambers Inc. recently certified the 3-on-3 league of the same. It was founded five years ago and the league recently wrapped up its fifth season. Ice Cube is the new CEO of the league while Jeff Kwatinetz became the new president. The proclamation of being the first black-owned sports league has surprised many around the sports world, as the NBA wasn’t supportive of the league.
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The BIG3 has tasted a lot of success over the years, attracting many top players around the world. The league is getting global attention and has a good fanbase as well. However, Ice Cube has revealed that the NBA hasn’t been very supportive of the league. The 3-on-3 league has different rules from what the FIBA stipulates and it seems like the NBA has a problem with Ice Cube’s league.
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The BIG3 has come a long way and has now gained global popularity. With the tag of being the first black-owned professional sports league, BIG3 is making huge progress. Fans have been overwhelmed by the news and reacted to it on social media.
Sports fans react to BIG3’s proclamation as first Black-owned professional sports league
The news has been making rounds on social media and fans have flocked to the comment section with heartwarming reactions. In fact, Chris Matthews, aka Lethal Shooter, has also reacted to the news in the comment section of the Instagram post shared below.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom)
“Respect ✊🏾🔥🙌🏾🙏🏾,” Chris Matthews commented on the post.
A fan praised Ice Cube’s determination and faith in the league since founding it.
“And a LOT of his peers didn’t want to invest in it jokes on them SALUTE Cube been a day one fan,” an Instagram user commented.
Another fan wrote: “Congratulations!! This is HUGE!! A MAJOR DEAL FOR OUR CULTURE!! So very happy for all involved!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🤎❤️🤎❤️”.
Twitter was also full of reactions from sports fans. Following are some of the best reactions from sports fans on Twitter:
While things haven’t worked out well with the NBA, Ice Cube has managed to make a partnership deal with the NFL. Through the partnership, Ice Cube and the NFL will help Black founders build long-term equities in the finance and technology industries.
Ice Cube reveals NBA hasn’t been supportive of the BIG3
The 53-year-old rapper sat down for an interview with Basketball News back in June, earlier this year. During the interview, he admitted that the NBA hasn’t offered support to the league. He also added that NBA doesn’t have a problem with BIG3 having a different set of rules than FIBA’s 3v3 rules.
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“The NBA hasn’t been the nicest to the BIG3. Of course, publicly, they say all the right words. But we know privately, there’s things done behind the scenes [with] sponsors, broadcasters, blah blah blah,” Ice Cube told Basketball News.
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However, since that interview, the BIG3 has come a long way. The league has 12 teams and Ice Cube has plans in place to expand it to 16 teams to create a ‘Big Cup’.
Can BIG3 and the NBA enter into good terms in the years coming forward? Let us know in the comments.
Sports World Reacts to Ice Cube’s “First Black Owned Sports League”
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