The BIG3 has been keeping the game alive for veteran basketball players for six seasons, and while they are trying to expand to grow the brand, they claim the NBA has been stifling their ability. Now TMZ is reporting — citing unnamed sources — that the Department of Justice is taking the claims seriously and investigating the NBA for potential antitrust violations against the BIG3.
Among the allegations is that the NBA silently pressures sponsors and potential partners from doing business with the BIG3 organization.
O’Shea Jackson, aka Ice Cube, and business partner Jeff Kwatinetz founded the 3-on-3 league in 2017, and it is composed mainly of veteran or retired NBA players who still want to ball.
No Vaseline
“It’s really about not hurting us behind the scenes with sponsors and networks,” Ice Cube said to CBS in August. “Calling us ‘competition’ in their bylaws is not right, and we want that not to say competition. It’s funny because they’re just kind of holding the BIG3 to this standard.
“They’re not doing it to [The Basketball Tournament], or SlamBall, or any of the other stuff that’s come up. They’re just doing it to the BIG3. So it’s just a little unfair. At a certain point, it’s really like if they don’t want to work with us I understand that, but doing some of the things they’re doing to hurt us is not cool.”
Ice Cube let his frustration show back in June in a social media video where he exposed what he felt were the “gatekeepers” holding back BIG3’s growth.
Basketball Crusader
“Some of you may not have realized that I’m not part of the club, and a lot of you listening to me right here, right now, you’re not part of the club either,” Cube said. “And what I realized with the club is what makes them so mad is when you don’t want to be a part of their f*****g club. It pisses them off. What club am I talking about? I’m talking about the club of gatekeepers that we all got to deal with. You know who they are, and they definitely know who they are.
“Ever since I put out the Contract with Black America, you know they been f—ing with me. Here and there, this and that. But it’s cool, you know, I expect that. You know I’ve been working on the Big3 for a long time. You know how they’ve been f*****g with me. I’ve made it plain, simple and clear what they’ve been doing. The NBA’s been f*****g with us.”
With plans to sell teams established in certain cities and have owners, BIG3 wants a chance to thrive. Ice Cube doesn’t necessarily want the NBA’s support. Still, it wants them to refrain from moving against them with the corporate entities and potential partners that would further solidify the concept’s rise in American sports.
