Rick Ross Defends J. Cole’s Decision To Join Basketball Africa League: No Black Man’s Dreams Should Be Limited
Rick Ross Defends J. Cole’s Decision To Join Basketball Africa League: No Black Man’s Dreams Should Be Limited
Rick Ross is backing J. Cole‘s decision to enter professional sports–and shutting down the nay-sayers!
As you may recall, J. Cole announced his professional basketball debut with the Rwanda-based Patriots Basketball Club (Patriots BBC), part of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). However, after the rapper scored a total of only five points throughout three games, BAL star Terrell Stoglin had some things to say about J. Cole‘s inclusion. For context, Terrell Stoglin is recognized as the first BAL player to score 40 points in one game.
In response to J. Cole‘s performance on the court, Terrell Stoglin called his presence “disrespectful” and suggested that he is undeserving of the opportunity. Stoglin claimed:
“I think he took someone’s job that deserves it. I live in a basketball world. I don’t live in a fan world. I know a lot of guys that had their careers stopped by COVID and they’re still home working out and training for an opportunity like this. For a guy who has so much money and has another career to just come here and average, like, one point a game and still get glorified is very disrespectful to the game. It’s disrespectful to the ones who sacrificed their whole lives for this.”
However, Stoglin also acknowledged that J. Cole‘s presence on the court would bring in more attention and money, though he finished his statement by saying:
“I don’t really pay attention to that type of stuff. I’m more [concerned that] he took someone’s job that deserved it.”
J. Cole has not responded to Stoglin‘s remarks… but it looks like Rick Ross has! The “So Sophisticated” rapper stood up for J. Cole and seemingly responded to Terrell Stoglin‘s claims. In an online video, Rick Ross stated:
“In no way is this meant to be disrespectful but first and foremost, should no Black man’s dreams be censored nor limited. And comin’ from a brother, I think you would understand what building these types of relationships would do for the business. For the eyes on the industry, you know what I’m sayin’?”
He continued:
“If your father owned the team, and he had to decide between you and Cole, I believe he would find it honorable if you stepped down and let J. Cole bring what he bringin’ to the industry. More importantly, brother, you should be there to support the brother. If he made one point on the first game, by the time he get to the 10th, you should make sure he makin’ six a game, you understand? If Cristiano Ronaldo bought the team, you would be there for the ribbon-cutting, brother.”
Rick Ross wraps up his response by suggesting that they should all support one another, as he wouldn’t hold it against anyone if they wanted to enter into the music industry from another profession.
It’s safe to say Rick Ross firmly believes that J. Cole should be allowed to live his dreams–and other players should see the positives and help him thrive! Neither Terrell Stoglin nor J. Cole has commented on Rick Ross’s statements.
What do you think about Rick Ross’s defense for J. Cole? Comment down below to let us know!