In this June 20, 2017 photo, rapper and actor Ice Cube poses in New York. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Invision/AP)
Back during the 2020 presidential campaign, hip-hop mogul Ice Cube announced he had drafted what he called a Contract With Black America, a reparations plan he wanted to present to the candidates. Then President Donald Trump bit, and the two met. Democratic candidate Joe Biden stalled his meeting with Cube, and the result was that the artist-turned-filmmaker helped Trump create his own plan for Black America called the “Platinum Plan.” Now, Cube says he’s being iced out by “gatekeepers” because of his political agenda and it’s hurting his sports venture, Big 3.
Recently, Ice Cube went to social media to vent.
The co-founder of the 3-on-3 pro basketball venture known as the Big3 posted a video posted June 25 to his Twitter account. In it, Ice Cube blasted the NBA and mainstream sports media for intentionally excluding his league, which began its sixth season on the day of the post. The Big 3 features 12 teams whose players are mostly former NBA contributors or younger players. The league features several prominent former players such as George Gervin, Gary Payton, and Lisa Leslie as head coaches, USA Today reported.
“Some of you may not have realized that I’m not part of the club,” Ice Cube said during the video. “And a lot of you listening to me right here and right now, you are not part of the club either. And what I realized with the club is, what makes them so mad is when you don’t want to be a part of they (expletive) club. That pisses them off. What club am I talking about? I’m talking about the club of gatekeepers that we all got to deal with. You know who they are and they definitely know who they are.”
“Now, a lot of people might say, ‘But, Cube, we want to work with the NBA,'” he continued. The Big3 does not have any partnership with the NBA. “Really, I don’t give a (expletive) about working with the NBA. What I want them to do, when I say ‘Work with us,’ is to stop working against us. …
“And that’s cool, we can do it ourselves, you know what I’m saying?”
Cube also attributed some of the backlash to his being outspoken about politics as he references his Contract with Black America.
Because of that, Cube says certain groups have been “f***ing” with him and putting roadblocks in his way to grow Big 3.
Cube also revealed he’s planning to do a podcast tour where he talks to “everybody,” TMZ reported.
In this June 20, 2017 photo, rapper and actor Ice Cube poses for a portrait in New York to promote the 25th anniversary re-release of his 1991 solo album, “Death Certificate.” (Photo by Amy Sussman/Invision/AP)
