NBA Being Investigated For Trying To Sabotage Ice Cube's Big3 League
The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the NBA for potential antitrust violations. The league is accused of working to stop the growth of Ice Cube's Big3 basketball league.
The NBA is allegedly trying to prevent sponsors and other business partners from doing business with Big3 and throwing its weight around to influence TV networks not to carry the games.
(Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images for BIG3)
The Big3 is a 3-on-3 basketball league launched by Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz in 2017. It features mostly former NBA players or younger athletes who are looking to break through.
However, according to TMZ, the NBA is preventing its players and referees from participating in the league. NBA owners have also allegedly been discouraged from investing in the Big3.
"BIG3 never asked the NBA to invest," Ice Cube clarified. "We just want them to stop pressuring individuals and corporations not to invest in the BIG3. They must be stopped."
Ice Cube Says NBA Is Working Against The Big3
"Now, a lot of people might say, 'But, Cube, we want to work with the NBA,'" the legendary rapper said in June. "Really, I don't give a f--k about working with the NBA. What I want them to do, when I say 'Work with us,' is to stop working against us."
The 3-on-3 season spans 10 weeks in the summer — a slow time for major sports. But the NBA Summer League takes place at the same time. And the WNBA is in full swing during those summer months.
Still, Ice Cube says he's surprised the Big3 doesn't get more media coverage — assuming the problem must be the influence of the NBA.
"We have Hall of Famers as our coaches," he said on the Dan Le Batard Show. "And so to really, virtually, ignore a league that's this great, that's this dope in the summer, where there is nothing else as far as hoops?"
Ice Cube said the NBA's "resistance" comes from commissioner Adam Silver, who doesn't "dig what we're doing personally."
It makes sense why the NBA might feel threatened by the emergence of a new basketball league. And it's understandable why the league wouldn't want its current players to participate.
A standard NBA contract already prohibits things like boxing, professional wrestling, motorcycling, moped-riding, auto-racing, sky-diving, hang gliding and other dangerous activities. So it's not surprising why NBA owners wouldn't want their players risking injury in another hoops league in their downtime.
That said, if Silver is meddling in other areas like potential sponsorships, investors and broadcasting deals, that's a problem.
So Ice Cube has made his feelings known. Now it's up to the DOJ to decide if he's got a case.
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