North Carolina rapper J. Cole is keeping it real, no matter how painful the truth is. The hip-hop star posted a sincere message to his followers through social media, speaking on his short-lived basketball career in Africa.
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J. Cole Acknowledges Basketball Inexperience
Following the recent news Cole was leaving the Rwanda Patriots basketball team, Cole acknowledged the help and support of many involved with his short time playing. In the post, Cole also acknowledged he should improve as an athlete before he considers returning to the court and his plans to do so.
“So many thank you’s are due. Thank you to @thebal and to @patriotsbbc for the opportunity. Thank you to my teamates, the coaches and staff for treating me like family. I learned so much in the few weeks we were together. Congrats on that win tonight and good luck next game. Thank you to @puma for supporting a dream from day 1, and getting me to Rwanda and back safely via Puma jet. Thank you to the entire country of Rwanda and to the city of Kigali for hosting us. BEAUTIFUL land with BEAUTIFUL people. To anyone considering visiting or moving to the continent, from everything I saw and heard, I would recommend you consider Kigali and Rwanda in general. Thank you to everybody that had kind words for me despite my inexperience. I plan to get better. ☁️☁️☁️”
J. Cole Playing In BAL ‘Disrespectful’ Says Opponent
Earlier this week, Terrell Stoglin, a former star point guard at the University of Maryland who currently plays for AS Sale (Morocco) in the Basketball Africa League, told ESPN that having J. Cole — who is 36 years old and hasn’t played competitively since high school — in the league is “disrespectful” despite the obvious upside.
“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 I feel is very disrespectful to the game. It’s disrespectful to the ones who sacrificed their whole lives for this.”
J. Cole was recently featured on the cover of SLAM, a basketball magazine, prior to the start of his rookie hoops season, and he seems to pop up on “SportsCenter” whenever he does anything noteworthy on the court.
“The positive side of it is — it brings a lot of attention, and, I guess, money. I don’t pay attention to that type of stuff. I’m more [concerned that] he took someone’s job that deserved it.”
Rick Ross Responds To Cole Criticism
Miami rap mogul Rick Ross isn’t here for the disrespect on Cole’s name. The Boss went to his Instagram Story to defend the rapper/ballplayer and drop some knowledge on critics like Stoglin.
“First and foremost, shouldn’t no Black man’s dreams be censored nor limited. Coming from a brother, I think you would understand what building these types of relationships would do for the business. For the eyes on the industry, you know what I’m sayin’?
“You should be there to support the brother. If he made one point in the first game, by the time he get to the 10th, you should make sure he making six (points) a game, you understand?”
J. Cole’s Team Speaks Up
While J. Cole hasn’t commented publicly on the criticism, his team has come forward to justify his spot on the roster. Patriots COO Haydee Ndayishimiye insists this isn’t just a publicity stunt.
“He’s a great basketball player and wants to play the game like everyone else. We understand some other teams may feel this way [as Stoglin does], but we made a basketball decision first.”