But alas, men run the business of basketball.
And those men are driven to protect the incumbent system. The NBA will tell you the WNBA does not make money, but surprisingly a solid percentage of the NBA teams don’t either in any given year. Sports is about team asset appreciation and that is why all those owners are making billions. Yet, if the NBA siphons off the merchandising, sponsorship, and media money by using the WNBA in its deals, how can women benefit from the change in consumer preference?
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 01: A basketball with the BIG3 logo on it during the BIG3 championship game between the Triplets and the Killer 3’s on September 1, 2019 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
When asked about the BIG3 offer during the NCAA tournament, Caitlin said “I found out about the BIG3 thing the same time you all did.” We have reason to believe these male agents and executives controlling the sport never even shared our trailblazing offer with Caitlin let alone facilitated Caitlin meeting with the BIG3 to discuss the opportunity. From our perspective, these representatives don’t seem to work for an individual client like Caitlin. They seem to work for the NBA mob, as their client list is a who’s who of NBA players. Do we expect them to prioritize Caitlin over the NBA – the top employer of their most highly-paid clients? The NBA commands by fear, and they make sure their industry of agents, lawyers, managers, and networks stay in line. And that line is to prevent BIG3 success, even if it stunts the growth of women’s basketball. Amid current negotiations of critical NBA new media deals, you can imagine the pressure on the NBA feeder system easily trumps any of Caitlin’s or other promising woman players’ best interests.
Don’t think so? These same agents, whose clients include Tiger Woods, let all their golf clients pass on over a billion dollars from LIV ostensibly because it was tainted “Saudi” money, yet here a diverse set of American backers of the certified Black-owned league BIG3 were seemingly stymied by them as well as an NBA that approved funding by Hamas benefactors Qatar. Were the backers the real reason, or were agents siding with the incumbent, ruling white men of the PGA when they passed on life-changing pay for their clients? In the end, even Rory had to admit LIV ended up getting them all better treated and compensated by providing an alternative that benefited even those who stuck with the PGA.
See a pattern here?
Ice Cube and I emphasized innovation for fans and athletes when conceptualizing our new league BIG3, now in its seventh season broadcast on sports powerhouse CBS and X worldwide. BIG3 was the first pro league to implement a mental health policy, favor CBD as a pain management alternative to opioids, enlist female coaches of men, and appoint a Black Commissioner in Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler, who is also pro sports first former player serving as Commissioner. Our inaugural CEO was the legendary, incomparable Raider executive Amy Trask. We hired coach Charles Oakley after the legendary Knick was disgracefully tackled and forcibly removed from Madison Square Garden where he had given 100 percent as a player. That’s us in a nutshell. Oakley gave the NBA his all just to get pissed on. These were not “woke” hires; this was getting the best and treating them like the best which is why our league succeeds. In fact, two “bests” – coaches Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie – both won BIG3 championships. For fans, BIG3 offers hard defensive play, no garbage minutes, quick action, and innovations that have transformed backyard 3-on-3 into the professional sport Fireball3. Our success has given the NBA plenty of innovative ideas they’ve happily employed and declared their own.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 17: BIG3 Co-Founders Jeff Kwatinetz (L) and Ice Cube talk during a news conference following a game between Killer 3’s and 3’s Company during the second week of the BIG3 at the Orleans Arena on July 17, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Before BIG3’s first-ever game, we met with NBA commissioner Adam Silver and daringly suggested that blocking former players who received appearance fees from their old NBA teams from participating in BIG3 – such as Hall of Famers George Gervin and Allen Iverson – was a modern-day form of plantation mentality. And contrary to Silver’s recounting, we NEVER asked for an investment. In fact, we offered ten percent of BIG3 FOR FREE, recognizing the same dynamic when the Mafia or a drug dealer demands a piece of the action in exchange for “territory” access. The basketball Don and his NBA mob instead tried unsuccessfully to kick us off “their corner” attempting unsuccessfully to crush us in service of their market share protection racket.
Unfortunately for them, Ice Cube and I are missioned to better society as we pursue business success. That potent combination makes it hard to knock us down. It also raises profiles and attracts esteemed recognition, as with the Basketball Hall of Fame establishing the annual Ice Cube Impact Award honoring those using basketball to better society. That’s right, Ice Cube has an exhibit in the very same Hall of Fame as BIG3 coaches Dr. J, Gary Payton, Nancy and Lisa, Rick Barry, Micheal Cooper, and future Hall of Famer and league champion Stephen Jackson.