One of the longest and strangest running legal battles in the sports landscape has wrapped up. On Wednesday, the BIG3 announced that they (and league co-founders Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz) had settled a lawsuit they brought against limited liability company Sport Trinity (an investment arm for Ahmed al-Rumaihi, formerly the controller of state organization Qatar Investments, and Palestinian-American Ayman Sabi) in 2018. Here’s that release, via Clarence Hill Jr. of All City DLLS:
For Immediate Release
BIG3 and Sport Trinity Announce Settlement, Celebrate Renewed Commitment to Basketball Community
Los Angeles, October 30th, 2024 – The BIG3 Basketball League and its investor Sport Trinity are pleased to announce the successful resolution of their legal…
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) October 31, 2024
Here’s the cut-off text there:
Los Angeles, October 30th, 2024 – The BIG3 Basketball League and its investor Sport Trinity are pleased to announce the successful resolution of their legal dispute, marking the beginning of a new chapter focused on enhancing the basketball experience for fans and communities like.
Joint Statement:
“Basketball has the unique ability to inspire and unite people, and it is this shared passion for the game that led to our partnership. We are thrilled to have settled our differences and to refocus on what truly matters: creating unforgettable basketball experiences for our fans and supporting the communities that rally around this incredible sport. Together and separately, we are dedicated to the spirit of competition, cooperation, and respect that makes basketball such a powerful force. We look forward to the future and any opportunities that may arise for us to work together again to give back to the community and the sport we love.”
Statement from BIG3:
“We are grateful to have resolved our legal differences with Sport Trinity in a manner that benefits everyone involved,” said BIG3’s CEO and co-founder, internationally claimed actor, rapper, and entrepreneur Ice Cube. “I extend my respect to His Excellency Ahmed Al-Rumaihi, and appreciate him working with us in a class manner to resolve this dispute. As to statements previously made about him, new insights have helped us to gain a more nuanced understanding. Our collaboration helped in establishing the league. We both believe in our sport, and are excited about what lies ahead in 3 on 3 basketball as we each work to elevate the sport and provide thrilling experiences for fans and players worldwide. We at BIG3 look forward to growing our league, and putting this dispute behind us.”
Statement from Sport Trinity:
“Our investment in BIG3 has always transcended financial contributions; it has been about shaping the future of basketball and fostering a culture of excellence,” said His Excellency Ahmed Yousef A.J. Al-Rumaihi, on behalf of Sport Trinity. “We are grateful for the opportunity to settle this matter amicably and are excited about the league’s promising trajectory. We firmly believe that our investment contributed significantly to establishing the league and its success. We wish Ice Cube and the BIG3 continued success for the benefit of their fans everywhere.”
This settlement concludes a challenging six-year legal journey, allowing both parties to move forward with a renewed focus on their shared vision for the future of basketball.
Why does this matter? Well, “challenging six-year legal journey” is probably understating this. As mentioned, this started as a $1.2 billion April 2018 lawsuit from Ice Cube, Kwatinetz, and the BIG3 against Trinity, their league’s largest initial investor. That included claims of Trinity not providing promised funding, plus defamation claims. And it led to the BIG3 taking out a full-page ad in The New York Times later that month, both asking then-president Donald Trump to ask the Emir of Qatar “not to threaten the BIG3 and American athletes” and also promoting their league’s upcoming games:
And the BIG3 took out a full-page ad in today’s NYTimes asking Trump to ask the Emir of Qatar “not to threaten the BIG3 and American athletes.” Signed by Ice Cube, Jeff Kwatinetz and Clyde Drexler pic.twitter.com/7uWnvlRrDV
— Rick Maese (@RickMaese) April 10, 2018
Scott Johnson covered this for The Hollywood Reporter in June 2018 ( with the headline “Ice Cube, Steve Bannon and the Weirdest Legal Battle in Hollywood,” bringing up how Kwatinetz claimed al-Rumaihi was trying to use him for his connections to Bannon, a key figure in President Donald Trump’s administration at that point. Here are some key quotes from that:
In May, Kwatinetz filed an affidavit in federal court in which he laid out another startling claim. He alleges that during a hike in January, in the final weeks before the arbitration began, al-Rumaihi had asked for Kwatinetz’s help getting access to Bannon. According to Kwatinetz, al-Rumaihi said Qatar was offering to “underwrite all of Bannon’s political efforts in return for his support.” Kwatinetz wrote that he was “offended” by the request and turned al-Rumaihi down. Kwatinetz went on to say that al-Rumaihi laughed at this and said, “Do you think Michael Flynn turned down our money?”
Al-Rumaihi, for his part, recollects the hike, on a steep trail in Topanga Canyon, but says no such conversation ever occurred. In fact, al-Rumaihi says that it was Kwatinetz who offered to introduce him to Bannon, saying the connection would be a “game changer” for the Qatari. “He refused to address his failed promises and mismanagement and he also repeated a recommendation he had made many times that we get Steve Bannon on the ‘payroll’ to assist Qatar,” al-Rumaihi said. Henry says he doubts Kwatinetz’s version of events. “The only time Ahmed talked about Bannon to me was in response to Jeff mentioning Bannon,” he says.
Al-Rumaihi and Sabi believe that the defamation lawsuit is a gambit to smear the country. “It’s a pure Bannon strategy,” says al-Rumaihi. “You know, make me a stand-in for Qatar and then conduct an anti-Qatar smear campaign to try to put pressure on Sport Trinity in an effort to extort us. This is a concocted geopolitical play to divert the focus from their mismanagement.” (Bannon didn’t respond to a request for comment.)
There were many other escalations there over the past six years, and both sides have made plenty of claims about each other. But the BIG3 has survived to this point, much longer than many initial critics projected. And it’s now wrapped up one of the long-pending pieces of litigation around it.
It’s unclear if any money changed hands in this settlement (and even who paid the legal fees, which certainly mounted over those six years), but it’s certainly notable to see this end. And it ends one particular bit of past weirdness around the BIG3.
[Clarence Hill Jr. on X]
