As part of the brethren of basketball royalty, the NBA mob will NOT shake us!
For decades I fought the “system” on behalf of world-class film and music talent, achieving unprecedented control and prosperity for them while providing superior entertainment experiences for their fans. Often I heard, “you’ll never eat lunch in this town again,” but I ignored those threats. From my BIG3 partner Ice Cube to numerous other artists including Snoop Dogg, Backstreet Boys, Kelly Clarkson, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Enrique Iglesias, and Jennifer Lopez, I battled a system hellbent on maintaining the status quo so my clients could innovate on their terms and entertain audiences around the world.
I ate a lot of lunches before deciding it was now time to innovate in sports. Cube and I along with our ragtag crew of believers in our vision dove into the world of sports with the intent to build a thriving and innovative entertainment sports business, which we have. But to do so, successful execution meant putting the right puzzle pieces together which also happened to perfectly serve our desire to fulfill a greater purpose – helping to break down stereotypes, promote diversity in sports, create opportunities for black, brown, and female athletes beyond the court, and to support the black community overall. And before anyone raises an eyebrow, we have never prioritized that mission over the capitalistic well-being of our league. Instead, our elevated vocation just happens to drive our success.
That’s not to say there aren’t innovators. As a league, the NFL is self-confident enough to allow the AAF, XFL, and USFL to take their best shots. Roger Goodell knows he can out-innovate any of them. In representation, Michael Jordan’s agent David Falk fearlessly forced revolutionary demands on the NBA creating enormous opportunities for the G.O.A.T. — opening doors for other players for generations to come. If only David Falk represented Caitlin, I bet the outcome would’ve unleashed innovation benefiting Caitlin, many of her female peers, and the women’s game overall.
BIG3 is forging a path of opportunity and recognition for Black, brown, and female athletes.
NBA superstar Jaylen Brown, also a high-ranking member of the NBPA, clearly gets it. He demanded to play in our all-star game at the O2 arena in London despite direct threats of fines and suspensions from the NBA brass including Silver himself, and he flew to London at his own expense and played for free. If Caitlin is reluctant to play in our defense-oriented and physical league, fair enough. We also certainly understand the pressure a 22-year-old faces, especially one focused on just competing and enjoying her sport. We don’t know or may never know if she would’ve been a BIG3 star, but the same could’ve been said of Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson playing two sports, or of Billie Jean King, and even Jackie Robinson. Regardless of her eventual level of performance, our goal at the BIG3 was to make Caitlin on our court a legendary win for EVERYONE. Surely BIG3 would’ve benefited, the difference is we were not greedy to the point of not giving much of the benefit to the person helping to make it happen.
Cube and I view this moment as one when the tables could have been forever turned in the great favor of women athletes. However, this historic opportunity may have been lost. Stars like Britney Griner and others will still need to risk spending time in Russian jails because they must play abroad to eat and live. They can thank the men guarding the system for that. I can only imagine how many other great ideas were killed in the cradle by the NBA and their sycophant supporters who are often incentivized to sell out their client’s best interest for that of the NBA.
Resistance to change, especially when it crosses the line into anticompetitive behavior, hurts everyone.
Fortunately, the United States Department of Justice is currently investigating the NBA for its transgressions against BIG3. We’ll see how that plays out, and for female players around the world, I hope justice will prevail.
We are both proud and appreciative of our players, who are fairly and equally compensated as we build the BIG3 and fortify the league’s financial wherewithal. Caitlin could’ve been our Lionel Messi – resulting in a monumental rising tide raising all boats. Our players and Hall of Fame coaches yearned for such a revolutionary player to join our collective mission changing leverage across the sports world. It could’ve been our Billie Jean King/ Bobby Riggs moment in history. But no matter what happens from here, we believe in Caitlin. She will have reverberations for women athletes everywhere.
That said, a simple meeting with us would have better and more immediately impacted ALL female athletes. A simple sixty minutes would’ve given her leverage either by the threat of true competition with another league, or by the promise of exponentially calling her own market value. This could have set a precedent for the WNBA, prompting necessary changes in compensation and treatment. With the WNBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement discussions on the horizon, the timing couldn’t have been more opportune.
Bill Gurley told us, “If you care about prosperity, and you kill innovation, you’re going to kill prosperity.” Boy was he right…