Account
J. Cole Reportedly Leaves Basketball Africa League Because of 'Family Obligation'
May 26, 2021
Rapper J. Cole has reportedly completed his contract with Patriots BBC of the Basketball Africa League and left the team's country of Rwanda for a "family obligation."
Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated reported the update Wednesday. The Grammy Award-winning singer recorded five points, five rebounds and three assists across three appearances.
J. Cole has a basketball background having starred at Terry Sanford High School in North Carolina and briefly walking on with the St. John's University college program before shifting his focus solely to music.
While his brief participation brought worldwide exposure to the newly formed BAL, not everybody was happy with the decision to give him a roster spot.
Guard Terrell Stoglin, who plays for AS Sale in the BAL, told ESPN's Leonard Solms on Monday it was "disrespectful" to full-time basketball players who wanted an opportunity to play:
"I think there's a negative and a positive [to J. Cole's presence]. The negative part of it is: I think he took someone's job that deserves it. I live in a basketball world. I don't live in a fan world. I know a lot of guys that had their careers stopped by COVID and they're still home working out and training for an opportunity like this.
"For a guy who has so much money and has another career to just come here and average, like, one point a game and still get glorified is very disrespectful to the game. It's disrespectful to the ones who sacrificed their whole lives for this.
"The positive side of it is: it brings a lot of attention, and, I guess, money. I don't really pay attention to that type of stuff. I'm more [concerned that] he took someone's job that deserved it."
Patriots BBC went 2-1 during the group phase of the season and earned a berth in the quarterfinals. They are the No. 4 seed in the playoff bracket and are set to face Ferroviario de Maputo from Mozambique on Thursday.
Right before starting his BAL stint, J. Cole released an album entitled "The Off-Season," which shouted out several NBA players, including LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
There's been no confirmation that he'll pursue any professional basketball opportunities in the future.