The title of this article basically tells you what you need to know about the recent acceptance of cannabidiol in professional sports. However, if you crave detail, you’ve found the appropriate resource.
Having said that, recently The Big3 League has announced on social media that it will be the first professional sports league to approve of CBD use.
Many could be asking, the Big3, what is that? This is absolutely understandable since the first time I heard the Big3 was now approving the use of CBD, I was assuming they were referring to the NBA, NFL & MLB.
After reflecting on the likelihood of the NBA, NFL & MLB accepting the use of CBD for treating injury, I suddenly realized it was highly unlikely for these major pro sports leagues to approve of CBD usage this soon.
After coming back to reality, I realized that, while this will occur at some point, the NBA, NFL and MLB top pro sports leagues are still quite hesitant and tight-lipped on the subject. Plus, where would the NHL rank, as #4?
All things considered, The Big3 League is a 3-on-3 Professional Basketball League. Founded by entertainer — Rapper/Actor, Ice Cube and his business partner Jeff Kwatinetz.
Ice Cube is famously known for his earlier work, starting out as a “gangster rap” originator, taking on the system as a member of N.W.A., starring in the critically acclaimed Boyz In Da Hood and writing the screenplay for the smash hit film Friday
There have been countless publications featuring the announcement of the Big3 Basketball League’s approval of CBD use for treating pain.
It has become a widely-reported and hugely popular story throughout the CBD Industry. In fact, some of the most notable appearances have been seen on sites for:
- Sporting News
- The Denver Post
- Chicago Tribune
- Entrepreneur
- USA Today
- CBS Sports
- ESPN
- ABC
What is most interesting, is the fact that many sites are claiming that the Big3 League is the very first professional sports league to have approved of CBD use by their players.
Technically, this would be the 2nd case involving a Pro Sports league accepting the use of CBD.
The very first professional sports league to actually approve of players using CBD products was the North American Premier Basketball League (NAPB).
We actually posted a detailed article on the NAPB becoming the 1st pro sports league supporting approval of CBD usage.
However, entrepreneur.com was able to report in a highly accurate way, with a subtitled subsection that read, “Retired NBA players’ knees rejoice as rapper, Ice Cube’s Big3 basketball league has become only the second US professional sports league to allow CBD use for pain management and recovery.”
The title of their subtitled section was “Big3 are Big on Pot for Pain.” Perfectly portrayed. Enough said. That approach practically tells you all you need to know. Sometimes, less is more. Well, only Sometimes.
Other times, it is necessary to reflect deeply on an angle in this development that has not yet been explored.
With that said, it may be quite beneficial for us to dive deeper into a summary from the NAPB announcement and then compare and contrast both major milestones in terms of CBD historical events.
Too dramatic? Too bad. Welcome to America.
In screenwriting courses, they’ll teach you how “No drama, then no character — no character, then no action.”
Therefore, since action is required, let us proceed.
Previous Post on NAPB and CBD
In our article, we can learn a number of details relating to the breaking news story that unfolded months ago. The article posted states:
“The legendary publication, High Times Magazine was the first to report in an article about this information. Apparently, as the story goes, a former running back for Colorado State, Treyous Jarrells, has combined his athletics experience with his entrepreneurial spirit as he consults Green Roads World — a CBD company. One impressive business approach taken by this CBD company is that they have developed a division that is dedicated solely to athletics. It is referred to as the Green Roads Athletics Division. Something about this business model tells me we will see more CBD companies emerging to the forefront with this same strategy. Treyous Jarrells officially delivered the story by announcing, “We have finalized a deal with the North American Premier Basketball League. Green Roads is now the Official Alternative Nutrition for the NAPB.”
Treyous Jarrells was also quoted, stating “Athletes such as myself have been working extremely hard to make CBD an alternative alongside the opioids, stimulants, painkiller shots and over the counter medicines a reality. We will be providing the league with pharmacist-formulated CBD products, hosting educational seminars and engaging in community events.”
Altogether, NAPB is the abbreviation for North American Premier Basketball League, a new professional basketball league for North America, created by Dr. Sev Hrywnak, a New York State team owner, and Dave Magley, the former Commissioner of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBLC).
Altogether, their original idea was to reactivate teams from a bygone era, so they spent about two years identifying cities that once had NBA, original ABA, CBA and D-League teams, but no longer did.
In addition, the NAPB motto is, “Where the spirit of the games still lives.”
This meaningful expression definitely illustrates the type of quality leadership that makes up the people who represent the league — the team players, team coaches, team owners and league founders.
Even if you’ve never heard about the NAPB before, this development for CBD-based therapy and medicinal treatments, in general, is extremely relevant toward social progress.
We should feel enthusiastic about watching the growth of this new league and if they’re friendly stance on CBD plays a part in their positive development.
To kick-off the opening season of 2017-2018, the NAPB collectively recruited players that could fill the rosters of 8 new pro-basketball teams in unique North American locales:
1) The Vancouver Knights
2) The Kansas City Tornados
3) The Yakima SunKings
4) The Nevada Desert Dogs
5) The Ohio Cardinals
6) The Rochester Razor Sharks
7) The Albany Patroons
8) The Kentucky Thoroughbreds
Back to the Big3 League
In one article on greenentrepreneur.com, they basically report based on the Twitter post announcement made by the Big3.
“The BIG3 is uniquely positioned in professional sports as a player-powered league that looks at our players as partners not property,” league co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz said in a release. “As a testament to our relationship with our players, we listened to their feedback on CBD, as well as feedback from professionals in the regulatory and CBD industry, and decided to take this major step to support their health.”
From the Twitter post, we learn the Big3 is claiming to be the first. Seems it is perhaps not so much the publications hyping the announcement up as Big3 being the first pro sports league to approve of CBD, as it is the Big3 who seems to be making the claim.
“We’re changing the game!” The Big3 has a tagline that fits in perfectly with their move to approve CBD.
No disrespect or discredit to the Big3 League, but it was the NAPB League who first approved of CBD use.
Regardless the Big3 now shares in the glory of being one of the very first professional sports leagues in support of CBD.
After all, in the previous article on cannabidiol360, it is mentioned how there was an instant high level of anticipation many felt, waiting to see whether or not the NAPB decision to embrace a CBD treatment platform would ultimately influence all other American professional sports leagues.
From the way the facilitators of the league talk about it, the NAPB almost seems more so of a city project spanning the country with a focus on providing jobs and giving back to the communities — specific communities that have been considered, at one time, very prominent areas to make a living.
However, I feel the reason the BIG3, 3-on-3 League can be publicized as the 1st pro sports league to embrace cannabidiol treatment is because these games are televised on ESPN or an affiliate channel.
Not to mention, having a celebrity Founder, like Ice Cube certainly helps out and the fact that recognizable names of former NBA greats are competing in the league.
Plus, the Big 3 made history, when Nancy Lieberman was named the head coach of Power.
Additionally, Adidas has become the official sponsor of the Big3.
Therefore, these are all the reasons why the NAPB has not been shown nearly as much love for their initial announcement of approving CBD.
It seems the Big3 is considered as an “established” enterprise while the NAPB is seen as more “experimental” as an organization and sports league.
In conclusion, no matter the comparisons or differences between the two leagues, the fact that more than one sports league is approving CBD usage is without a doubt, a huge victory!
Lastly, it is quite fascinating that the Big3 and the NAPB are both specifically leagues for playing basketball.
Not football, not baseball nor hockey or soccer.
Therefore, it is my prediction that the NBA will be the first of the most well-known professional sports leagues to approve of using cannabis-related treatments.
Specifically, hemp-based cannabidiol — more commonly referred to as CBD.
