Photo Credit: Bebeto Matthews / AP

Big 3, Ice Cube Sued For $250 Million

Some NBA legends, paired up with 3-on-3 basketball and a four point shot, touring the bigger cities in the nation during the NBA offseason. Sounds like a great idea. Before the inaugural season of the Big3 league started, co-founder Ice Cube said:

“Some people actually told us they would wait to see how we did this year before they would want to be a part of it. We knew trying to introduce something this new would have people kind of taking a wait-and-see approach.”

It turned out to be a success. The league recorded an average of 11,000 people in attendance every weekend, and broadcaster Fox Sports picked up their option for the second season.

So you would think that things couldn’t run any smoother for the two founders, Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz. But you’re wrong. The New York Post reported that the Big3 has been sued for $250 million by the Champions Basketball League:

 

Ice Cube was slapped with a $250 million lawsuit on Friday for supposedly poaching hoops stars — and proprietary ideas — from the newly formed Champion Basketball League…

CBL’s founder, Carl George, says the legendary rapper and actor, whose real name is O’Shea Jackson, and BIG3’s co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz, got close to CBL brass and players only to steal their ideas and goods after their 2014 launch….

The suit claims that “when certain players expressed their desire to participate in the CBL games, Mr. Cube confronted the players personally about playing in the CBL and threatened the players that they would be fined, not allowed to participate in the 52% of revenues bonus pool, or replaced on their teams,” court papers claimed. “These threats were also shared with the CBL. (per New York Post)

The Big3 league hasn’t commented the allegations yet. But it seems that the CBL got hustled.