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Gilbert Arenas on black players getting tattoos: 'If you're Caucasian, you fall into the rock star, David Beckham look'
Gilbert Arenas on black players getting tattoos: ’Big sleeves and stuff, corporate America, them sponsors, the don't f*ck with it still, right? For some reason on our color skins, just be honest, right? If you're Caucasian, you fall into the Rock Star look, the David Beckham, you know what I mean? You fall into that look. But you know, just reality, we're thugs, right? It's still, that's the look of it still. So you have to be careful when you get tats.
Shaquille O'Neal would 'definitely be involved' in potential ownership bid with expansion NBA team
Shaquille O’Neal smiled as he walked into Club SI for a party he was co-hosting with David Beckham during Saturday night’s Las Vegas Grand Prix and did his best British accent. “We’re very close,” O’Neal told The Messenger. “The fact that I have David Beckham’s number and Tom Brady’s number in my phone, it doesn’t get any bigger than that.” The last time I talked to O’Neal, he told me he wanted to help bring an NBA team to Las Vegas but wasn’t interested in partnering with LeBron James. O’Neal, however, has softened his stance and would welcome a partnership with James. “If there’s ever an NBA team that’s going to come here, I would definitely like to be involved,” he said. “With LeBron, without LeBron, I just want to be involved.”
Esports company Faze Clan announced today that two-time NBA All-Star Ben Simmons has joined a Series B funding round that has yet to close. The Philadelphia 76ers star is the latest basketball player to invest in Faze Clan, following the New Orleans Pelicans’ Josh Hart, the Miami Heat’s Meyers Leonard and the Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray. Esports have been a hot destination for athletes to place their cash. Kevin Durant, Michael Jordan, Alex Rodriguez and David Beckham are among those with stakes in competitive gaming companies. European soccer stars Antoine Griezmann of Barcelona and Mesut Ozil of Arsenal have started their own esports teams.
Michael Jordan is still the highest-paid retired athlete in the world, according to a Forbes' list released on Wednesday. He earned the No. 1 spot once again after bringing in $110 million in 2015. Not only does he make more than any other retired athlete, but Forbes estimates that he is worth $1.1 billion, and that he will make approximately $30 million more than any other athlete, retired or active, in 2016. Rounding out the top 10 were three other former NBA players: Junior Bridgeman, Shaquille O'Neal, and Magic Johnson. Non-basketball players on the list were David Beckham ($65 million), Arnold Palmer ($40 million), Jerry Richardson ($30 million), Jack Nicklaus ($26 million), Roger Penske ($20 million), and Gary Player ($19 million).
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Former NBA all-star center Yao Ming is now dishing out assists to much wilder targets. After retiring from the Houston Rockets in 2011, Yao returned to China and set out to end his homeland's traditional appetite for endangered and threatened animal products. As an ambassador for international conservation organization WildAid, Yao has campaigned to persuade his countrymen to give up the key ingredient in one of their traditional delicacies: shark–fin soup. The “I’m FINished with Fins” campaign, which also featured Jackie Chan, soccer star David Beckham and NBA player Jeremy Lin, has been credited with reducing the tens of millions of sharks killed for their fins each year in China by at least 50 percent.
Basketball players can also take advantage of the global nature of the sport. Bryant has made trips to China the past eight years for Nike and he is one of the brand’s main chips in its battle against Adidas in China. Bryant partnered with Turkish Airlines in 2010 and has been featured in commercials with global soccer star Lionel Messi. James’ Dunkin’ Donuts deal is for Asia only, and he entered into a new partnership with Chinese Internet services firm Tencent last year. These deals are not available to football and baseball players. Soccer players are the only team sport athletes that can compete with NBA players. The top 10 endorsers earned $120 million last year led by David Beckham, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who all made more than $20 million from their partners off the pitch. It also starts with the shoe deal for soccer’s biggest stars. Nike and Adidas pay high seven figures for the players above in their global competition. Messi and Ronaldo are stars in every part of the world and are not limited by geography when cutting endorsement deals. They also have bigger followings than any U.S. athlete. Ronaldo, Messi and Beckham have a combined 161 million Facebook fans. The top U.S. athlete is Bryant at 18 million.
When LeBron James came to the Miami Heat in 2010, he joined Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form the Big Three. But LeBron may be about to form a new tandem to storm through another sport. James confirmed on Monday that he is interested in exploring partnering with David Beckham to put a new Major League Soccer franchise in Miami. “There’s some interest on both sides,” James said Monday. “David has become a good friend of mine over the last few years. I think it’d be great for this city to have a football club for sure. So there’s interest on both sides. But it’s preliminary talks but there is an open dialogue.”
Nash gave access to all parts of his life to producer/director Michael Hamilton and the film will include interviews with President Barack Obama, Ron Howard, David Beckham, Snoop Lion, Doug Ellin, David Blaine, David Stern, Wilson and NBA players Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Yao Ming and Baron Davis. More film information is at www.nashthemovie.com.
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PRINCE William and David Beckham were left creaking their necks after joining forces with the world's tallest basketball player to help endangered animals. The Duchess of Cambridge's husband and the ex-Manchester United star are working with 7 foot 6 inch NBA star Yao Ming to urge consumers not to buy illegal animal products. The trio are campaigning against products made from horns and ivory taken from rhinos along with shark fin in their work for charity WildAid.
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