League
Via SportBusiness: BIG3 Secures Verizon Partnership and Olympic Star Bulut
By BIG3 August 2, 2021
August 2, 2021
The BIG3 basketball league has secured a wide-ranging partnership with American telecommunications giant Verizon, which has been designated the presenting partner of the league’s playoff and championship games.
The BIG3 postseason will be held at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas from August 28 until September 4.
In addition, Verizon will have on-court signage and present the “rules of the game” segment each week as well as gaining custom social media content across BIG3 owned and operated channels.
“In a time when so many companies are talking the talk, we are thrilled to see Verizon stepping up and walking the walk,” said Ice Cube, BIG3 co-founder. “We can’t wait to continue working with them this season, especially as we inch closer to our next stops in Dallas, Milwaukee, and Chicago.”
In a further boost, the BIG3 has finally secured the services of Dusun Bulut, who made his league debut over the weekend fresh off winning an Olympic 3×3 basketball bronze medal with Serbia.
In 2019, Bulut was forced to withdraw from the BIG3 after being allegedly threatened with not being able to play in the Olympics if he did not leave the league.
Fiba officially declared that “participation in BIG3 does not have an impact” on eligibility for the Olympics. But the Wall Street Journal reported that had Bulut played in the Big3 without Fiba’s permission, he would have faced a fine of approximately $10,000 plus a 24-month ban from its events, which would have prevented him from participation in tournaments necessary to qualify for the Games.
In an angry statement, the Big3 described Fiba’s decision as “outrageous”, “shameful,” and “callous.”
“Fiba is maybe the global game, but right at this point Big3 has more talented players,” Bulut said.