Ice Cube's BIG3 basketball league is mostly made up of retired NBA players, giving them an opportunity to show off their skills at a lesser level while still playing the game they love. While the 3-on-3 league has been successful in becoming a profitable brand, it appears as though some investors have not lived up to their end of the bargain. Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz founded BIG3 in 2017 and, with the help of several investors, they have become a notable and professional league.
Cube and his partner are now going after a group of Qatari investors to the sum of $1.2 billion. In a report obtained by TMZ, the Qatari Investment Authority had agreed to invest $5 million into the league and become passive investors. However, things turned sour as they "quickly started to insinuate themselves into the affairs of BIG3 despite failing to live up to even their most basic obligation to fully fund their investment." Following several requests to be compensated as they had promised, one member of the investment group threatened Kwatinetz' life, saying, "You don't know who I know in L.A. and what they're capable of. You should think of your safety and the safety of you and your family."
Ice Cube and Kwatinetz are suing for $1.2 billion in damages for complaints including defamation. The full report is available to read here.