The BIG3 basketball league revealed on Friday that US Black Chambers, Inc. and ByBlack have recognized it as a Black-owned company. The groundbreaking 3-on-3 tournament is now the only professional league of sports to obtain this kind of recognition.
The BIG3 was first introduced by rapper, actor, and businessman Ice Cube and entertainment producer Jeff Kwatinetz in 2017. The league completed its fifth season earlier this year and has just started offering blockchain-powered franchise stakes that resemble ownership. Notable buyers of teams include Gary Vaynerchuk, DeGods, Snoop Dogg, and Ken Howery.
Ice Cube said on this occasion:
“Myself and the entire league are honored to be officially certified by ByBlack and the US Black Chambers. From day one, the league has been dedicated to providing opportunities for Black players, fans, investors, and partners, and we are proud to be a part of a nationwide network of Black business owners. Supporting Black enterprise is a lifelong passion of mine and the BIG3 will continue to build upon its successes and lift up other Black entrepreneurs.”
There aren’t any major league sports leagues with organizational frameworks like the BIG3 and its Ice Cube-led group of equity partners, despite the fact that a number of sportsmen and businesspeople and businesswomen possess large ownership stakes in specific clubs. The basic reason for this is straightforward: almost all professional sports leagues are associations in which each franchise owner owns an equal stake in the league. The NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL all operate under this concept.
A nonprofit group called ByBlack seeks to create remedies for “the generational issues of the Black economic agenda.”
Rony Busby Sr., CEO and President of USBC said: USBC is energized by the BIG3 basketball league becoming a certified ByBlack business. This is the first step of what we deem to be a fruitful partnership, with Ice Cube’s commitment to helping other Black-owned businesses get ByBlack certified. We applaud Ice Cube for leading the way in this initiative and it is our goal to continue this partnership by collaborating with Ice Cube, BIG3, and other Black-owned businesses in the sports and entertainment industry.
In addition to the certification, Ice Cube partnered with the NFL earlier this year via his Contract with Black America Institute to promote the expansion and emancipation of Black-owned businesses. The BIG3 recently implemented Heat Vision, specialized 3-on-3 shot tracking software powered by Microsoft Azure and Noah Basketball Analytics. As part of the agreement, the two organizations will concentrate on assisting Black founders to create lasting equity in the finance and technology sectors. The software, which will be heavily utilized during the 2023 BIG3 season, which begins next summer, gives players access to real-time statistics on every shot’s arc, rotation, and depth.
Comments