Bad news for Ice Cube’s basketball league.
Despite rumors about former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick possibly investing in the BIG 3 basketball league, his representatives are clearing the air by saying, “It’s just not true.”
According to The Athletic, the statement came early on Thursday, July 7th, 2022, after the league reported that Kap’s investment would help the league stay afloat during some disappointing setbacks.
The biggest challenge Big3 faced so far was the cancelation of the 2020 playing season due to the COVID-19 pandemic that cost the lives of 835 per 100,000 people in 2020, according to a CDC report.
So severe were the death tolls, COVID-19-related deaths became the “3rd leading cause of death in 2020, with nearly 150,000 more deaths than the 4th leading cause of death, accidents, and over 250,000 fewer deaths than the 2nd leading cause of death, cancer.”
“It was tough. It was a situation where we really had to figure out what we needed to do. We knew we wouldn’t have a season. We actually worked on trying to create a bubble before the NBA. We had an idea to connect with Endemol, who does the Big Brother show, and create a Big Brother/BIG3 show. But the networks wasn’t ready. They were scrambling,” Ice Cube explained during an interview with FanNation.
Still, the 3-on-3 league founded by Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz was hoping to get a win with a big name and banked investor.
In 2018, the league made news when the former NWA member stepped down as Commissioner. While gearing up for a spectacular future, the company hired basketball legend Clyde Drexler in that top spot.
AllHipHop.com reported that a spokesperson doted on the new appointment, saying, “As Commissioner, he will help lead the BIG3’s basketball operations as well as executing the league’s long-term strategy on all fronts.”
Over the last few months, The Big3 has made several power moves and announcements. The league revealed that Snoop Dogg and PayPal founder Ken Howery are minority owners of a team called Bivouac.
Big3 also launched a global partnership with DAZN to broadcast select games globally. The BIg3’s 5th season kicked off on June 18th.