West Coast veteran and hip-hop legend <a href="/profile/IceCube" class="text-word" target="_blank" >Ice Cube</a> was quick to defend his brand online after <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/7/19/20700527/joe-johnson-big3-basketball-league-total-dominance" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">The Ringer</a> published an article entitled &#8220;Joe Johnson Is the Big3’s First God.&#8221; While the name seems harmless enough, it is followed by the tag line, &#8220;Have you ever wondered what would happen if a seven-time NBA All-Star played in a three-on-three league against a bunch of washed retirees?&#8221; The writer of the piece, Rodger Sherman, tweeted a link to the article which caught the attention of Cube. The result was a concise yet stinging reproach. &#8220;This is very disrespectful. Washed? I’d like to see you get your ass out there with them,&#8221; wrote Cube after retweeting the article.
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Public Enemy’s Chuck D hopped in the conversation as well, sub-tweeting his support for Cube. “Cube THAT same person would pass the Fcuk Out after a 45 second argument,” he wrote. The article in question does call players washed at once point, but then takes a step back to reassess the statement. &#8220;The Big3 originally seemed like a way for washed ex-ballers to con fans into financing their retirements via half-assed pickup games,&#8221; writes Sherman. &#8220;Three years in, though, the league has survived and carved out a niche,&#8221; he continues. &#8220;The players are increasingly NBA-adjacent, and everyone appears generally interested in winning.&#8221; 
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