Business news network CNBC announced that it will partner with Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James to create a new reality series focusing on burgeoning entrepreneurial opportunities in Cleveland. James will serve as producer on the series, which is set to debut this summer.
“Cleveland Hustles speaks to the network’s entrepreneurial spirit and also creates an opportunity to help strengthen communities that have fallen on hard times,” said Jim Ackerman, EVP, Primetime Alternative, CNBC.
The announcement comes during a low point in James’ relationship with his beloved Cleveland, after the news that there would be no indictment of Officer Timothy Loehmann in the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. The boy was playing in the park with a toy gun when Loehmann and his partner, Frank Garmback, arrived on scene and shot Rice within seconds. The event sent shock waves through the Twittersphere and sparked a #NoJusticeNoLeBron campaign to ask the superstar to sit out until there was an indictment.
James admitted he did not know enough about the case to speak on the subject.
Regarding the new show, CNBC says:
NBA superstar LeBron James and his longtime friend and business partner Maverick Carter will give four aspiring local entrepreneurs the chance to realize their own dreams while also helping to revitalize a neighborhood in Cleveland. LeBron and Maverick will enlist the aid of four trusted business experts and associates, who will in turn invest in and mentor fledgling entrepreneurs who need a little jumpstart. In success, these four businesses will provide jobs and services for neighborhoods that desperately need investment.
Cleveland Hustles continues his charity and commitment to the community he loves, even though he dropped the ball on the Tamir Rice issue.
