This week, the Big3 announced that they were deactivating four players, one of whom was Lamar Odom.
🚨🚨🚨 BIG3 Announces Player and Staff Changes pic.twitter.com/RIPmyYOacS
— BIG3 (@thebig3) July 10, 2019
This took fans by surprise. Many wanted to see Lamar continue on his path towards recovery after the drama and challenges he faced over the last few years. They eagerly awaited to see him return to the court for the Enemies squad, which paired him with Royce White and Gilbert Arenas.
But after one game, it was apparent to the league and Ice Cube that Lamar wasn’t ready, and so they made the decision to deactivate him, Ice Cube later giving fans the reason why.
“As a league, we want players that are actually playing, so if you aren’t playing, or can’t play, or you have any health issues….” said Cube to TMZ.
Today, Lamar Odom issued his response to the decision to deactivate him on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz0sSGAAR6I/?utm_source=ig_embed
“As most of you have heard, the @thebig3 decided to deactivate me for the remainder of the 2019 season. I respect @icecube & the other league executives, however, I am extremely disappointed with the way that this has been handled. Besides the embarrassment, it’s disappointing to read on IG that this decision had been made, especially without sharing it with myself or my manager.”
Yet, according to TMZ, “Our BIG3 sources tell us … execs are adamant they made multiple attempts to reach Odom before the league publicly announced Odom had been deactivated but they never got a response from Lamar.”
So while we’re not sure as to what really went down, it’s apparent that both parties were unhappy with the way things were going, and the Big3 made the first move.
Odom went on to say how excited he was to play in the game tomorrow in Rhode Island, as he would be returning to where he played his college ball.
“The Rhode Island game that is happening tomorrow was the game I have been looking forward to the most as many people know that this is where it all started for me.” said Odom in the post.
Despite his disappointment with the decision, Odom was gracious towards Cube and the league, wishing them the best and acknowledging Ice Cube’s position in the greater scheme of things.
“I am proud & rooting hard for Ice Cube to build this league to the next level. He is the only black male owning a sports league in the USA, just let that one sink in for a moment. We must always think about the big picture, supporting our brothers & sisters.”
While fans are obviously disappointed, if Odom wasn’t in the proper shape to play at the level required, then no one can fault Ice Cube and the Big3 for their move.
Hopefully Lamar gets into the shape they expect and returns next season. Fans will still show him love.
