Ice Cube announced that his Big3 League offered Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark $5 million to forgo the WNBA and become the first woman to participate in his 3-on-3 league that runs from June-August at major venues across the country.
In a season that’s garnered unprecedented attention for women’s college basketball, the leading brands in this rise have been LSU’s Angel Reese and Clark, who broke the all-time NCAA scoring record this season and has become the media darling of the moment.
The racial element became a driving force behind both of their rising notoriety, as their fierce battle in last season’s NCAA Tournament divided many basketball fans along racial and geographic lines. With the help of social media, this dynamic took on a life of its own and kept narratives going surrounding women’s hoops.
Black People Are Mad Ice Cube Offered Caitlin Clark $5M To Join Big3
A popular opinion across Black Twitter was that the media wasn’t always covering the two players fairly. Reese was portrayed by some mainstream media outlets as the “villain” or “bully,” when Clark has just as much attitude, bravado and knows how to give the same Tony Ya Yo “You Can’t See Me” hand-taunting gesture that became the springboard for a thousand think pieces and race analyses concerning the media portrayals of Reese and Clark.
When Cube dropped the bomb about trying to sign Clark, he had to know that Black Xers and IG instigators would accuse him of playing leverage politics in a similar fashion to when he proclaimed that he wanted to sit down with Donald Trump to present a financial plan to uplift Black people.
His intentions were there, but when you proclaim to be a civil rights and community leader, you have to choose your time to reach across the table or your supporters could take it as a shady move.
WNBA Players Are Mad At Ice Cube For Supporting Clark and Not The League
One very vocal opponent of Ice Cube’s desired choice to break the Big3 gender barrier is Los Angeles Sparks player Lexi Brown, whose father Dee is the 1991 NBA Slam Dunk champion. Brown expressed the frustration that many other Black women ballers and hoops fans felt, believing that Cube had plenty of other choices to bless with such an opportunity. Maybe a WNBA player wanted the opportunity to leave and to join Big3 League for $5 million and be a pioneer. If Cube is rolling in dough like that then, why not put his support behind the WNBA in some way?
Brown also had a problem with the timing of Ice Cube’s announcement and accused him of disrespecting WNBA players who have paved the way for such an opportunity and the current stars of tomorrow in the heat of March Madness.
“Instead of i don’t know, supporting the women’s league that already exists…let’s do this…in the middle of the NCAA tournament.
men are HILARIOUS”
Atlanta Dream star Rhyne Howard thought the news was comical, considering Ice Cube’s son is a WNBA fan and attends games.
In the midst of all the Cube bashing, the genius and potential entertainment value of the proposed contract was lost. Cube based his decision on a variety of topics that negatively affect the women’s game and he felt this opportunity can open up doors and options for women who have complained about pay and resource inequity in pro basketball, brought to light by Brittney Griner’s unfortunate imprisonment in Russia.
“America’s women athletes should not be forced to spend their off seasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet,” Cube said, in response to the drama.
Offering the bag to Clark rather than Angel Reese is actually the smart business move. Clark’s NIL valuation is higher and her celebrity is on a higher level with mainstream media. Reese has a strong social media following and curates her content for results. Both have major sneaker affiliations. Clark’s popularity is riding a wave that keeps going up and she doesn’t actually need to do something gimmicky like join the Big3 to make money.
Right now, she’s the chosen one and the road to riches is paved with diamonds and gold as long as she keeps shooting from Steph Curry range and remains in the Nike family.
Clark also reaches a larger cross-section of the American audience. When Cube travels to these cities with his Big3 league, the audience is diverse and young athletes make up a huge portion of the crowd.
Reese has fans of all races and genders and she’s a beast on the court, but it seems that her basketball skills come second to her celebrity affiliations and unfiltered commentary.
Caitlin Clark Is Exciting Shooter, Reese Is A Post Player
Also, style of play is very important as one level-minded X user noted, when he said, “No one wants to watch angel Reese try to post up a dude. Miss a layup, and run back down the court.”
Caitlin Clark is a guard who controls the ball and provides excitement on every play. Reese is a 6-foot-3 post player who is known for her grit, rebounding ability and dominance 15 feet and in. Her style of play isn’t as attractive to the new generation of fans that the Big3 wants to attract.
Some people attribute Cube’s choice to sound business, nothing nefarious or racially discriminatory.
But the people who jump to conclusions and criticize or question Ice Cube for not “choosing a Black basketball player,” automatically rendering him defenseless with the race card, probably won’t take the time to look at it for what it is: business!
