Sports

Diddy Shares His Support For Runner Sha’Carri Richardson, Condemning Her Olympics Disqualification

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Although reactions to the International Olympics Committee ruling runner Sha’Carri Richardson ineligible for the 2021 Summer Games have been split, the colorful athlete has at least one powerful ally in her corner: Sean “Diddy” Combs, who tweeted his support for her and condemned her 30-day suspension for the use of marijuana.

Stating that his heart was broken for her, he noted, “I’m tired of white people sitting in a room making up decisions that affect our hopes and dreams. They will keep treating our athletes like slaves and entertainment until we shut down on these people!”

He then compared the judgment against her to the racist results of the US’s so-called War on Drugs, pointing out parallels that allow for the unfair treatment of people using a non-dangerous substance which was criminalized mainly due to its association with use by Black people. “So many of our brothers, sisters, mothers, daughters, and sons are rotting in jail for marijuana and it’s JUST NOT RIGHT,” he wrote. “Now, to see them using this against a young Black woman that is on the edge of her greatness, all because some white man decided to make it illegal, is shameful.”

He also noted that there’s no real reason for THC to disqualify anyone from competing because, as he wrote accurately, “Marijuana does not make you run faster.” He also noted a discrepancy between the treatment of Richardson, a Black woman, and Michael Phelps, a white male swimmer who was also previously allowed to compete after testing positive for THC. While the circumstances aren’t exactly apples to apples, his point still seems valid.

Richardson was determined to be ineligible for 30 days, beginning June 28, after qualifying for the Olympics with a 10.86-second 100-meter dash time. Unfortunately, most of that month overlaps with her events and she was not selected for the Women’s 4 x 100 relay. She said that she took marijuana to cope with the recent death of her mother. Other supporters have included Seth Rogen, who also pointed to the discrepancy in calling weed a performance-enhancing drug, joking, “If weed made you fast, I’d be FloJo.”

All-4-One Remade ‘I Swear’ For An Xbox All-Access Music Video

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Xbox has never been a stranger to getting famous musicians involved with their brand to promote their products. Around Christmas, places like Twitter are usually full of Usher wishing a Merry Christmas to Xbox, for example. Their latest attempt to involve music as a promotional tool, though, is one of the weirdest advertisements you will ever see.

R&B group All-4-One has went and made a music video for Xbox. In a bizarre remix/homage of their hit song “I Swear,” this is “It’s All There (I Swear),” which shows how essentially everything a gamer could ever want is right there on Xbox. Yes, this is real, and it’s one of the stranger music videos you will ever see. That said, “I Swear” is a heat rock no matter what year it ism so this song is way better than it has any right to be.

Also, the music video featured an ESRB rating and I can’t figure out if they were legally required to do that or if it was just a fun detail.

YouTube

It goes without saying, but more companies should consider silly ideas like this because they’re fun and allow all of us to smile and laugh together. These are video games, they don’t have to be serious and Xbox seems to understand that better than most.

Kevin Huerter Disgusts Hawks Fans By Picking Rich The Kid Over Outkast

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Fans of the Atlanta Hawks turned on one of their own players on Saturday night … well, kind of. As is oftentimes the case in NBA arenas, the Hawks tried to pass some time in between timeouts by running little segments involving players. One appeared to have some sort of bracket element with Atlanta-based rappers, and Kevin Huerter, bless his heart, earned himself a whole lot of boos.

Huerter was asked to choose between Rich the Kid and Outkast. Now, you and I know that regardless of your thoughts on Rich the Kid, you should say Outkast every single time when asked this question, especially if you are doing this in a large venue in Atlanta.

And yet Huerter decided to give his honest answer, and thanks to a video from Taylor Rooks, we learned that the crowd at State Farm Arena showered him with boos.

The video is great because you can hear the crowd react to “RICH THE KID OR OUTKAST” by making a noise as if to say, “Oh, this one is obvious.” Huerter then zags where everyone expects him to zig, which gets the crowd all riled up. We can’t totally make out what is said on the video, but whatever it is, Huerter chuckles at it. Anyway, Kevin, if you read this during halftime, know you’re gonna need to score like 40 in a win to make up for this.

The Gin Blossoms Are Savagely Trolling The Nuggets Ahead Of Their Concert During Game 2 Of The Western Conference Finals

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One fun element of the Phoenix Suns’ postseason run is the way that they’ve added in-arena entertainment when games have taken place in their building. Arizona’s very own Jimmy Eat World had a halftime concert during the conference semifinals, while Tag Team came to Phoenix Suns Arena to remind everyone of their favorite March Madness commercial during Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

For Game 2 on Tuesday night, the team extended an invitation to another band from the state: Gin Blossoms. The group best known for heat rocks such as “Follow You Down” and “Hey Jealousy” announced the news earlier in the day, and even made it a point to pay tribute to legendary Suns player Charles Barkley.

Then, I don’t know if you’ve ever had plans before, but you usually have some time to kill before you go do whatever that thing is. So Gin Blossoms used the time to get into it with a fan of the Denver Nuggets, the team that the Suns took down to make it to the conference finals, by repeatedly getting off jokes about the franchise.

Because most Suns things seem to come back to this dude at this point, we even got a “SUNS IN 4” reference out of the band, although this had a slightly tweaked version of the hashtag.

I will be honest: I did not anticipate, at any point in my life, witnessing Gin Blossoms talking trash on the internet because the Phoenix Suns just swept the Denver Nuggets in the NBA playoffs. But to the victor go the spoils, so go off, Gin Blossoms.

Master P Wants To Coach The Pelicans To Keep Zion ‘Happy’

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The New Orleans Pelicans are one of seven NBA teams with a head coaching vacancy, and have one of the most intriguing situations to offer thanks to the presence of a budding superstar in Zion Williamson.

The second-year star became an absolute force in his sophomore season, becoming the league’s most dominant and efficient inside scorer. The problem was that New Orleans struggled defensively (again) and also could not close out games for the life of them, failing to make the play-in and leading to Stan Van Gundy being fired after just one season. With Williamson and Brandon Ingram, there’s talent there, but also uncertainty with a number of players entering free agency this summer.

There are sure to be a number of interested candidates from around the league, as coaching a talent like Zion is hard to pass up, but if the Pelicans want to expand their search beyond the NBA, there is a New Orleans legend who wants a shot at running the team.

Yes, Master P has (once again) decided to just gently let the Pelicans know that he is available to be the NBA’s first “hip-hop coach,” and that he would ensure that Zion would be “happy” — a clear reference to reports that Williamson’s family wants him out of New Orleans. Master P does have NBA experience having been on the preseason rosters for the Hornets in 1998 and Raptors in 1999, although he didn’t make the full roster for either, and as he notes he has coaching experience at youth levels. I highly doubt the Pelicans would actually be interested in turning to Master P to be their coach given the stakes of the situation with Williamson already, but if Zion ever chooses to do a dunk contest he should absolutely dunk over a gold plated tank while catching a lob from Master P.

NYC Hip-Hop And Skate Culture Collide In The Trailer For The Documentary ‘All The Streets Are Silent’

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If you live for sneakers, skateboarding, Supreme drops, and all things hip-hop, you have late ‘80s and early ‘90s New York street culture to thank for that. And you’re probably going to love All The Streets Are Silent, a feature-length documentary debut from Jeremy Elkin that explores this still influential period of American youth culture. For the documentary, Elkin reached out to the kids (and Kids) who grew up in the scene — who better to document that golden age of style and music than the people who lived it?

Premiering today at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival as a documentary select, “All The Streets Are Silent” takes you on a deep dive into the streets of New York City, back to the days when skate culture and hip-hop were still rebellious expressions of street youth and not global commodities with rabid fan bases dominated by hype.

The film, which is narrated by Zoo York cofounder and Uproxx Style editor Eli Morgan Gesner uses archival footage and covers notable figures and locales of the era, including Harold Hunter, Club Mars, Supreme, and DJ Stretch Armstrong. The stars of the counterculture are in full effect but at its heart, All The Streets Are Silent is an examination of being a kid in New York City during a special time in pop culture. With guests like Rosario Dawson, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, DJ Clark Kent, the late Keith Hufnagel, and Yuki Watanabe, “All The Streets Are Silent” offers an exploration of race, society, fashion, and street culture in a culturally significant era in New York City history wrapped in a Paris is Burning meets Kids aesthetic that oozes cool.

Elkin took this project seriously, in addition to linking up with Gesner, he also tapped the legendary Large Professor, the producer that brought us Tribe Called Quest’s “Keep it Rollin” to do the soundtrack. It doesn’t get more vintage New York than that. Check out the trailer for All The Streets Are Silent above and stream it on-demand until June 23rd for $15 here.

Quavo Says He Is Not Mad At Kendrick Perkins, And Actually, It’s All Funny To Him

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Quavo went on First Take on Thursday morning ahead of Migos’ newest release, Culture III, which dropped on Friday. Part of what made his cameo on the show so much fun was it gave him and Kendrick Perkins the chance to have a conversation — Quavo and Perk have been involved in a back-and-forth over the last few years ever since Perkins’ name came up on 2018’s Quavo Huncho.

The two seemed to really go at one another on the show, which raised the question: Do Quavo and Kendrick Perkins legitimately have beef with one another, or is this just two dudes having fun? In a new interview on Complex’s 360 With Speedy Morman, Quavo made clear that he’s mostly having fun.

Via Complex:

“I don’t give a damn about no Kendrick Perkins, man,” said Quavo with a smile. “He’s an analyst. He said his kids love my bars, his kids running around and teasing him. Matter fact, I’m gonna take the kids on a field trip and just leave pops at home. Settle the beef like that.” He made it clear that it’s mostly in jest, however, and that it’s just as “funny” to participate in the beef as it is to watch it all unfold.

It’s unclear whether Perkins views things the same way, but hey, at least Quavo’s having a good time with this whole thing.

Austin McBroom & Vinnie Hacker Share Fight Night Music Picks Ahead Of Their Social Gloves Boxing Match

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Some of the biggest names in YouTube and TikTok will be going pound-for-pound this Friday (June 12) at the Miami Hard Rock Stadium for the highly-anticipated event Social Gloves: Battle of the Platforms. Ahead of the massive showdown, a few of the fighters, including YouTube superstar Austin McBroom of the Ace Family as well as TikTok influencers Vinnie Hacker, Ryland Storms, shared with Uproxx the songs that get them amped up and ready to rumble.

For McBroom, who will go up against TikTok topliner Bryce Hall, it’s the vibey-yet-hard-hitting 24KGoldn cut “Company” by 24KGoldn featuring Future. “Makes me feel like I’m on top of the world,” he told us.

Hacker, who will see YouTuber Deji, chose “Young, Wild and Free” by Wiz Khalifa. “I first heard this song when I was filling up my car with E10 and it stuck with me,” he said about his choice.

Popular TikTok star Michael Le, who is expected to face off with YouTuber Faze Jarvis, uses J. Cole’s “95 South” to get pumped. “’95 south’ is a raw, dope ass song,” he told us. “The energy I get when I listen to it is the exact vibe I want people to feel when they see me Saturday night. I’m goin’ in with a beast mentality, ain’t nothin shakin’ that off me.”

Storms, who will fight YouTuber Tanner Fox, happens to get his adrenaline going with Giorono’s Theme from anime series JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, whereas Deji prefers to get hype off his own song “The Truth.” YouTube star AnesonGib on the other hand, who will fight TikTok’s Tayler Holder, likes to get in the zone by listening to the rambunctious “Original Nuttah 25” by UK Apache with Shy FX, which he described as “A song fit for a mad man!”

Fans can livestream the PPV fight on the LiveXLive.com Platform. If you want to catch it in person tickets are available over at Ticketmaster. Lil Baby, Migos, Trippie Redd and DJ Khaled are all expected to grace the stage with fire performances.

“It’s going down at Social Gloves on June 12, and I’m excited to be a part of it,” Lil Baby said in a press release. “It’s great to see all these YouTubers and TikTokers putting in the hard work to prepare for these fights. We are bringing big energy to Social Gloves. I’m looking forward to this day, and I’m sure fans won’t be disappointed.”

Social Gloves: Battle of the Platforms is the first in a series of events planned in partnership with LiveXLive.

Check out the Social Gloves: Fight Night playlist below featuring picks from Austin McBroom, Vinnie Hacker, Ryland Storms, and more!

Saweetie Connects With Esports Organization Gen. G To Host Education Workshops For Asian Americans

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Saweetie is stepping up to lend a helping hand to her Asian American community. The rapper, who is of Filipino descent, announced that she is teaming up with Gen. G, the leading esports company that connects the United States to Asia, for a string of workshops. The Icy Baby Workshops begin next week and see the rapper learning skills and covering topics that include gaming, cooking, music, lifestyle, and fashion, and beauty.

According to Revolt, Saweetie’s overall goal is to bring awareness to both AAPI entrepreneurs and her Icy Baby Foundation, her non-profit that aims to inspire “Black, brown and other underserved youth through financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and technology training.” Saweetie also spoke about the workshops in a press release.

“Now is the time to come together and support each other as we fight to end Asian Hate,” she said. “I am excited to partner with Gen. G to connect with our fans in new and inventive ways to have real conversations about making positive changes in our community.”

Gina Chung Lee, VP of Brand for Gen. G, also spoke about the new endeavor as well.

“So many Asian Americans are in the forefront of gaming, music and fashion but rarely get the spotlight that they deserve. It’s great to partner with an advocate and entrepreneur like Saweetie,” she said in the press release. “As an AAPI woman growing up, there wasn’t always mainstream representation and celebration. It’s very meaningful to be able to shape and empower the next generation of leaders across all digital platforms and create cool content while doing so.”

The workshops will begin on June 14 with the launch of her new Twitch channel. The first lesson will see her beside Twitch chef Triciaisabirdy and DJ Bella Fiasco as they dive into a discussion about food. On June 16, she will discuss fashion and beauty and the next day her conversation will be focused on gaming.

Saweetie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Quavo Went Onto ‘First Take’ And Continued His Beef With Kendrick Perkins

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ESPN

Migos are making the media rounds in anticipation of Culture III, which drops on Friday. One such cameo was Quavo heading onto First Take, which included a pretty fun wrinkle: an interaction between himself and Kendrick Perkins.

Perkins and Quavo have been butting heads ever since the latter dropped Quavo Huncho, which included the line “Get no playin’ time, Kendrick Perkins” on the track “Fuck 12.” Perkins, as you might guess, didn’t particularly enjoy this, and over the years, he’s made this point clear. The latest example of this came over the weekend, when Migos performed at the Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul fight and Perkins tweeted the following…

A few days later, the two had a back-and-forth after Quavo used a picture of Perkins and a fist emoji to promote the new album.

This set up the two going back-and-forth on First Take, and while the show usually relies on debates over random sports things to get people on set riled up, it legitimately seemed like Quavo and Perkins were going at one another over this.

Anyway, if Migos decide to delay Culture III at the last minute, we can all assume it is because there’s going to be a line making fun of Perk on it. Unless, of course, that already exists.