Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Culture
CultureEntertainmentSports

LeBron James and Longtime Partner Will Give Four Aspiring Cleveland Entrepreneurs a Chance at a Big Win in New CNBC Series

Posted byBy Ricky Riley | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

lebronjamessuitBusiness 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.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top