Ice Cube’s Big3 basketball league was awarded $21 million in a defamation lawsuit against Champions Basketball League, The Blast reported Thursday (March 28).
Cube’s company sued the league for defamation in 2017, after CBL claimed that they were defrauded because Big3 wouldn’t allow players to play in both leagues. CBL filed a $250 million lawsuit against Big3 that was tossed out of court.
According to The Blast, CBL will have a chance to contest the ruling in court next month. A lawyer for Big3 is expected to file paperwork next week for the court to approve to make the judgement official.
The three-on-three league co-founded by Cube for retired NBA players, has been embroiled in a number of lawsuits. In 2018, the league was sued by its former chief creative officer, Kainoa Henry, who alleged that he was forced to resign after Cube’s business partner, Jeffrey Kwatinetz, created a hostile work environment.
Additionally, Cube and Kwatinetz filed a $1. 2 billion lawsuit accusing a group of Qatari investors of defamation, libel, and interference with contractual relationships. According to the suit — which names investors Ahmed Al-Rumaihi, Faisal Al-Hamadi, Ayman Sabi, Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Sau Al Thani — Cube and Kwatinetz were led to believe that the business men would invest $11.5 million into the league in 2017.
On another note, Cube is looking to expand his business portfolio. The 49-year-old rap legend and his business partners are in a reported $10 million bid to purchase 21 regional Fox sport networks from the Walt Disney Co. According to Bloomberg, the league has the support of Serena Williams and Snoop Dogg who have signed on as content partners.