The emergence of the Major Pickleball League has brought recognition in professional sports, and more big names are now becoming involved.

According to Boardroom, several more investors have joined the Brooklyn Aces franchise: Canadian hip-hop recording artist Drake, Creed actor Michael B. Jordan, and UnitedMasters and Translation founder/CEO Steve Stoute.

Pickleball, which has boomed in popularity in recent years, combines various elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong and is played indoors or outdoors on a badminton-sized court with a slightly modified tennis net.

“We’re thrilled to have this incredible group of investors join the Brooklyn Aces as we continue to grow the team and raise the profile of Major League Pickleball as a whole,” Boardroom and 35V co-founder/CEO and Aces majority owner Rich Kleiman (Kevin Durant’s business partner) said in a written statement. “It’s the idea of bringing people in that we could share in this with and utilize resources as the Aces evolve. Our investor group includes some of the savviest entrepreneurs in the business, and having this network on our cap table positions us to be successful.”

The Brooklyn Aces said the additions to the investment team will further its commitment to the pickleball community. More community events will help grow the team’s presence and elevate the players on the Brooklyn Aces heading into the second half of the Major Pickleball League season.

On August 3, 2023, the Aces will host its first youth-focused community event, Aces Day of Play, at the CityPickle courts in Manhattan.

Major League Pickleball has 16 teams in the United States. In 2023 there will be six tournaments across six cities for more than $2 million in prizes.

In 2022 Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James connected with two other NBA champions, Golden State Warriors guard-forward Draymond Green and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, in a new ownership group when they joined Major League Pickleball.

• Education

by Stacy Jackson

July 20, 2023

Fulani Brothers Create An alphabet To Help Preserve Their West African Language And Culture

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These brothers were the last hope to save a language. 

Ibrahima and Abdoulaye Barry have partnered with Microsoft and McCann NY to preserve the language, Pulaar, spoken by the Fulani people of West Africa. They have launched ADLam Display, which is a development of the Pulaar alphabet.

“ADLaM, the acronym, A, D, L, M, Alkule Dandayɗe Leñol Mulugol, literally means it is the alphabet that will prevent the culture, the people, from disappearing. What we meant by that is not the people, themselves, will disappear, but the fact that ADLaM will allow us to preserve our culture,” the Fulani Brothers said, according to Little Black Book. 

Since 2018, the brothers have collaborated with Microsoft to develop the Pulaar alphabet. With the support of McCann NY, ADLaM has been digitized. The digital version can be accessed on the Microsoft 365 suite, as well as on desktop and mobile platforms.

Although more than 40 million people speak Pulaar, an official alphabet for the language had not been established until recently. To preserve the culture and native language of their people, the Barry brothers designed a handwritten form of the Pulaar alphabet in 1989. 

The next step for the brothers was to create a version of the alphabet that was functional and would allow for communication across digital platforms. Furthermore, the digital version would provide a means of communication for business and research endeavors. 

McCann NY and a group of typeface designers sought ways to make the alphabet more practical for use among the Fulani community. This led to a digital, up-to-date version of the alphabet that is written and read more easily. The team made sure to account for the evolution of the Fulani community and their language by using new letterforms. 

A core concern the project seeks to address is illiteracy by enhancing educational provisions that are digitized in the classroom. The Barry brothers and McCann created classroom materials and a book to teach writing. A children’s book was also designed to teach the alphabet and aspects of Fulani culture. 

This year, two ADLaM-focused schools will open in Guinea, allowing students to learn completely in their native language for the first time. The Mali government is working to recognize ADLaM as an official alphabet in addition to the Minister of Education in Guinea certifying ADLaM as Pulaar’s official alphabet. 

The revised alphabet is available on unlocked.microsoft.com as ADLam Display font.

• Men

by Stacy Jackson

July 20, 2023

Ohio Barber Helps The Houseless Get ‘Interview Ready’ For Jobs With Free Haircuts

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It was a slow day in the shop, so “Jay Da Barber” started cuttin’ up on the streets of Ohio.

Jayon Hughes took his business to the streets on July 18, 2023. According to WTOL11, Hughes posted up across the street from Toledo’s Cherry Street Mission with a sign and his handy tools to offer free haircuts to anyone who needed a fresh do. After observing “everybody out there, just in distresses,” Hughes decide to lend his talents to the community.

“I knew I had to help them,” Hughes said. “Me giving a haircut, knowing that they’re satisfied with their haircut, that’s something money cannot buy.”

 

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A post shared by Jay Da Barber (@jay_da_barber22)

Hughes was changing lives as he cut around 10 heads. “Four of those homeless people had interviews the next day. So yes, I got them interview-ready,” Hughes said.

Although his free services did not bring in the dough that day, Hughes’ hard work did not go unnoticed. Tanya Maria Murphy of #TanyaWitThaTee, witnessed the barber at work as she was driving. Murphy, who has a son who owns a barber shop, was interested in highlighting Hughes’ community work. She decided to capture the moment and post it on Facebook.

“Seeing him do it, it’s like, that’s what I’m talking about. That’s how you put the map out there,” said her son, Gary, who has been cutting hair for over 16 years. “That’s why my mother sees stuff like that and captures it because that’s the type of stuff I’ve been doing. That’s how she sees me as well.”

Murphy witnessed how Hughes created a feeling of self-worth in his clients that day.

“To see the smile on his face,” Murphy said. “And for him to be praised like that, that’s going to give him an oomph.” To date, Murphy’s post has garnered over 50,000 views.

Hughes, who has cut hair for four years, worked to cut as many heads as possible that day. “The money will come. It’s not about the money,” Hughes said. 

• Sports

by Lauren Nutall

July 20, 2023

LSU Basketball Stars Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson Land Amazon Commercial

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LSU Basketball stars Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson have built quite the fanbase on social media. With a combined number of over 7 million followers across Tik Tok and Instagram, the NCAA champions have garnered widespread support. Now, the two women are making appearances on the small screen through commercials, ON3 NIL reports. 

Reese and Johnson were recently featured in Amazon’s “Dormz” back-to-school commercial, where the two students decorated their college dorms with items from the company’s storefront. They have soared in popularity, and this is just one of the many brand deals they’ve landed since their NCAA championship win.

According to ESPN, the event was the most-watched NCAA Women’s basketball game ever and the most watched college basketball game ever, including men’s and women’s. The face-off garnered almost 10 million viewers. You can watch the Amazon advertisement below. 

It seems like basketball runs in Reese’s blood. Her cousin Jordan Hawkin plays for the University of Connecticut, and he also received the NCAA Championship title this year for the men’s tournament, according to ABC News.

Reese, who transferred to the LSU team from the Maryland Terrapins a year ago, now has partnerships with PlayStation, Mielle Organics, and more. Though she struggled with the change, in April 2023, Reese spoke to ABC News about her career.

“A year and a day later, now I’m in this situation. So it’s crazy how life can change in a year,” she said.

Johnson, who once starred on Lifetime’s The Rap Game, has seen her rap career take off even more and recently signed with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation.

“The fact that I’m being recognized for my music as well as my basketball at the highest level, that was a breathtaking moment for me. Both of my lives crossed over how I wanted it to. It was an amazing feeling,” she told Uproxx in a June interview.

Like her teammate, Johnson has also earned her fair share of partnerships, scoring deals with major companies like Doritos and Papa John’s. 

Not long ago, the two athletes were making TikTok videos in their locker room. Now, they’re walking red carpets. As many fans wait in anticipation for their next move, Reese and Johnson continue to gain momentum on and off the court. 

RELATED CONTENT: Another Day, Another Honor: LSU Star Angel Reese Has Basketball Court Renaming In Baltimore County

• News

by Iman Milner

July 20, 2023

Former NBA Star Rick Fox Scores $12M In Pre-Seed Funding For Tech Startup

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Rick Fox does it all. After 13 seasons in the NBA, including as a key member of the Los Angeles Lakers’ championship run in the early 2000s, the 53-year-old has seamlessly moved into a successful acting career and now the world of tech.

In 2021, Fox co-founded Partanna, a carbon-negative concrete company, alongside architect Sam Marshall, and in May 2023 the pair raised $12 million in pre-seed funding.

Partanna will join companies like Sylvera and Impossible Foods who focus on climate-friendly solutions to daily problems. “At Partanna, our mission is to delink development from pollution and build a sustainable future for all,” Partanna’s website says. “We are pioneers of the world’s first zero-emission technology that naturally removes carbon from the atmosphere, allowing us to create innovative solutions that meet the needs of tomorrow without sacrificing the planet.”

According to AfroTech, Fox started to think of innovative ways to combat climate control during the COVID-19 pandemic after seeing the devastating toll Hurricane Dorian had taken on the Bahamas—where he currently resides.

“It got me to a point of thinking about a bigger crisis, which was one that we were facing at home in the Bahamas, which is the consistent impact of the climate and the storms that were happening on a yearly basis at a different level than what I grew up with,” he said.

For Fox, it is meaningful work as it impacts not only his life but future generations.

“I’ve been a part of a lot of amazing journeys and industries, from entertainment to movies and TV,” he said. “I’ve been on sets with Oscar-winning actors and directors, and I’ve been on championship NBA teams. There’s been nothing more rewarding for me in my life than to be a part of this team where we’re leaving something behind.”

According to AfroTech, Partanna‘s current valuation is $190 million.

• News

by Iman Milner

July 20, 2023

Florida Jury Awards $800K To Girl Burned By Chicken McNugget

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Olivia Caraballo was only four years old when she sustained second-degree burns from a chicken McNugget inside her McDonald’s Happy Meal. Now, a Broward County jury has awarded the now-8-year-old and her family $800,000 for her injuries.

As previously reported, Caraballo and her mother Philana Holmes visited a Florida McDonald’s in 2019, where they ordered the meal that Holmes handed to Caraballo; two minutes later she heard the child scream and realized that a nugget had fallen onto her lap. The scalding hot fast food favorite left the young girl’s thigh “disfigured and scarred.” In their lawsuit against McDonald’s and Florida franchisee Upchurch Foods, Inc, Holmes and the girl’s father, Humberto Caraballo, claimed that the McNuggets they were sold were served at a dangerously hot 200 degrees. “The reasonable, foreseeable, intended use is for a child to handle this box.

The law implies a promise from a corporation to, in this case, a child,” the family’s lawyer, Jordan Redavid said. “And if it is preventable, it’s warnable, you should warn someone about it, and if you don’t do that then you’re liable.”

They originally sought $15 million from the fast food giant.

Lawyers for McDonald’s argued that the food is served at high temperatures to avoid salmonella poisoning and is not intended to be pressed against human flesh, according to The New York Post. Jurors; however, found Upchurch Foods Inc. to be negligent due to their failure to warn customers about the potential risk of burns. They also determined that McDonald’s failed to provide proper instructions to their franchises on the safe handling of their food items. Though it took Caraballo and her parents almost four years to receive any form of justice, Holmes sees the victory as a crucial step in recovery for her daughter.

“I’m actually just happy they listened to Olivia’s voice and the jury was able to decide a fair judgment, I’m happy with that,” she said.

• Arts and Culture

by Stacy Jackson

July 20, 2023

North Carolina A&T Introduces Plus-Sized Majorette Dance Team ‘Liquid Gold’ To Foster Inclusivity

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The only thing better than solid gold is liquid gold.

North Carolina A&T State University student Jada Mayes created the university’s first plus-sized majorette dance team, Andscape reported. The Liquid Gold team fosters inclusivity of all body shapes and sizes in college dancing.

Mayes, the team’s captain, said, “The sole purpose of Liquid Gold is to create a safe space for plus-sized dancers to build confidence in themselves and their craft without judgment or discrimination.”

The HBCU’s existing majorette team, Golden Delight, has strict fitness requirements. The team’s “Prospective Member Guide” states that a dancer should have “toned legs, back, arms, and abs. Stamina is critical.” The guide also notes, “We have strict physical/body requirements due to the uniforms worn and intense performance style. This is a determining factor in the selection process.”

Still, there is room for everyone to win. Andscape reported members of the Golden Delight are supportive of Liquid Gold. Mayes said to the outlet, “On our TikTok and Instagram page, I’ll see Golden Delight dancers in the comments saying, ‘I love this!’ They’ve been supporting the idea 100%.”

Liquid Gold is still working towards becoming an official organization to receive funding from the university. The plus-sized majorette team created a GoFund Me page to raise money. So far, the dancers have raised $660 of their $5,000 goal.

Sydney Clark, a member of North Carolina A&T State University’s Golden Delight, spoke about the essence of what it means to be a majorette dancer. Clark told Good Morning America that majorette dancers “cannot be defined.” She went on to say the dancers do “things with their body that physically or mentally you can’t really comprehend, but physically you can’t take your eyes off of them.”

HBCU majorette teams have a dazzling history. Good Morning America reported the first majorettes were baton-twirling carnival dancers. The outlet noted the term “majorettes” came from the Dutch word “Dansmarietjes,” and the first HBCU majorette performance was at the Orange Blossom Classic in 1968.

• News

by Sharelle B. McNair

July 20, 2023

New York City Reaches Massive Settlement With George Floyd Protestors

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Things are looking up for the New York City protesters that faced the police during the 2020 racial injustice demonstrations.

New York City has agreed to pay over $13 million to approximately 1,300 people in a civil rights lawsuit, ABC News reports. The protesters were arrested or beaten by police during several racial injustice protests during the summer of 2020.

The lawsuit targeted 18 specific demonstrations following the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. According to the suit, participants who were arrested or subjected to police force by NYPD officers will be eligible for $9,950 in compensation.

If a judge approves, the settlement will be one of the most expensive payouts ever awarded in a lawsuit for numerous arrests and allows the city to avoid an expensive trial.

During the marches, protesters claimed officers used a crowd control tactic called “kettling,” which cornered them into tight spaces in order to attack them with batons and pepper spray before arresting them. Lawyers from the National Lawyers Guild represented the plaintiffs and accused NYPD leaders of depriving protesters of their 1st Amendment rights with a well-thought-out campaign to greenlight unlawful arrests and indiscriminate brutality.

However, NYPD’s attorneys stood their ground, saying their officers were simply responding to a chaotic situation. They pointed the finger at other protests where police vehicles were set on fire and officers were hit with rocks and plastic bottles.

Gideon Oliver, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the suit was about more than money as it will define how different police policies are implemented.

“Judged by that yardstick, this is a huge victory,” Oliver said, according to the Intercept. “But whether or not it changes police practices is another story, and depends on how New Yorkers—and the city government—react. We can’t let the police count this win for protesters as just another cost of doing business.”

The protesters say the payout is a huge step moving forward but there is still work to do to address police misconduct.

• Celebrity News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

July 20, 2023

Tupac Shakur Murder Case Leads SWAT Team Raid On Las Vegas Home

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It might be over 25 years since Tupac Shakur was killed in a Las Vegas shooting incident, but the cold case is still under investigation and led to a recent SWAT raid.

A chaotic scene ensued outside a home in Las Vegas on July 20 as Vegas Metro PD descended on a quiet community in Henderson, Nevada around 10 PM to issue a search warrant, TMZ reports. Authorities shouted through a megaphone demanding for the people inside the home to come out.

A shocking video shows one officer ordering a woman to drop her cigarettes and exit the home along with one man who was told to place his hands in the air and walk toward the police backward. Police seized items from the home in connection with Tupac’s decades-old murder case, ABC News reports.

Among the items retrieved included magazine articles about Tupac’s murder, computers, hard drives, and pictures from the 1990s that show individuals who might have been connected to people directly or indirectly involved in the 1996 drive-by shooting. Copies of the book “Compton Street Legend” by Duane Keith Davis, known as Keffe D, someone who has publicly identified himself as one of two living eyewitnesses to Tupac’s murder, were also seized.

Authorities are considering the search success but doubt any of the items retrieved will produce a direct link between the mission of the investigation and Tupac’s murder. The evidence is now being presented to a Las Vegas grand jury.

If anyone does get indicted as a result of the search, that process could take months from now. Authorities have long believed Tupac’s killer died in a separate shooting incident in 1998. They are now investigating to determine who was in the car with the gunman who fatally shot Tupac, which could lead to someone being charged as an accomplice.

Tupac Shakur was shot multiple times on Sept. 7, 1996, in Las Vegas after attending a boxing match with Suge Knight. The platinum-selling rapper died in the hospital six days later from his injuries at the age of 25.

RELATED CONTENT: 27 Years After His Tragic Death, Tupac Receives A Star On The Hollywood Walk of Fame

It was a family affair in A$AP Rocky’s new Beats By Dre campaign that featured cameos from his “wife” Rihanna and their son Rza.

In the new advertisement that debuted on Thursday, July 20, Rocky can be seen producing a song inside his apartment. Rihanna’s voice is then heard ordering the Harlem rapper to go get some diapers for their baby boy.

“Babe! Can you go to the store? We ran out of diapers,” Rihanna says from the background.

That’s when Rocky springs into dad mode and dashes to the store in a pair of Timbaland boots and his Beats Studio Pro headphones. The “Fu*kin Problems” rapper directed the “Iconic Sound” campaign that includes his new, Pharrell-produced single “RIOT (ROWDY PIPE’N),” Billboard reports.

Rocky can be heard rapping about his “wife” Rihanna on the track as he’s seen running through New York City with a white tee tied around his head and a gang of doppelgangers following behind.

Rocky leaps over trash bins and taxi cabs before finally arriving at the AWGE Bodega, named after his creative agency, and buys some AWGEY’s Diapers that feature an adorable photo of his and Rihanna’s 1-year-old son RZA on the package.

Once outside the store, paparazzi chase the rapper down as he heads back home. Only to find out, he picked up the wrong diaper size.

“Babe! You gotta go back,” Rihanna yells from the other room after Rocky sits back down at his at-home studio. “These are the wrong size.”

The adorable commercial comes as the couple prepares to welcome their second child together. Rihanna debuted her baby bump while headlining the Super Bowl half time show back in February.

In May, Rihanna and Rocky celebrated their son’s first birthday at a Wu-Tang-inspired party. Rapper Rza has praised the celebrity couple for naming their first child after him.