In October 2022, Cube's Big3 officially became the first Black-owned sports league in the country —the league was fully recognized as a Black-owned and operated business by the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. and ByBlack. Shortly after the major announcement, Cube called out ESPN and the NBA for what he says is shady treatment of his league. The comment came after former NBA star Stephen Jackson tweeted his support for Cube's league, saying that others need to follow suit. Cube chimed in on Jackson's comments, saying he appreciated his support.
"We definitely need everybody’s support. The [NBA] and [ESPN] are doing everything in their powers to ignore or destroy [TheBig3]," Cube wrote.
Although he's been critical of the NBA, Cube struck up a partnership with the NFL last summer, with the league reportedly committing over $100 million to causes that assist Cube's Contract With Black America (CWBA) initiative that he founded with media executive Jeff Kwatinetz during the 2020 presidential campaign. The CWBA calls for the NFL to direct more business to Black-owned companies in various sectors including consumer services and technology. The contract also contains a "Sports Industry Economic Development Plan" which requests that sports leagues and teams hire exclusively Black companies for food vendors in stadiums, including more Black manufacturers, production companies and marketing and advertising agencies in league operations. Ice Cube reportedly wants other leagues including MLB, MLS and the NBA to participate, but at the time, said that he had not heard from the NBA.
In music news, Cube is set to headline 420 West Fest in April. There's also a possibility his supergroup, Mount Westmore, will have new music on the way soon.
Check out Cube's thoughts on the league's possible target score change above.
