J. Cole has reportedly completed the terms of his contract with the BAL’s Rwanda Patriots, according to ESPN’s Marc Spears, who broke the news on Twitter. Cole got to live his dream of professionally playing basketball, if only for a short time. He wrote, “A source confirms rapper J. Cole of the Rwanda Patriots BBC has completed his contractual obligation to the Basketball Africa League and has departed from Rwanda due to a “family obligation.” “In three games, J. Cole had five points, three assists, and five rebounds.”
Source confirms rapper J. Cole of the Rwanda Patriots BBC has completed his contractual obligation to the Basketball Africa League and has departed from Rwanda due to a “family obligation,” a source said. J. Cole had five points, three assists and five rebounds in three games. pic.twitter.com/RXQsXMN8DX
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) May 26, 2021
Spears was the one who broke the news of Cole’s surprise signing ahead of the release of his new album The Off-Season, revealing that the rapper had agreed to a three-to-six-game deal in the newly formed international league. Cole’s manager and business partner Ib Hamad later stated that the timing was purely coincidental due to the coronavirus pandemic delaying both the album release and the start of the Basketball Africa League. Cole’s contract was most likely set to last at least through the group stage, with the possibility of an extension based on his performance during the tournament’s remaining three games.
However, not everyone enjoyed having the rap star around. Cole’s opportunity was “disrespectful to the ones who sacrificed their whole lives for this,” according to Terrell Stoglin, the leading scorer for AS Salé in Morocco, who felt “he took someone’s job that deserves it.” Although Rick Ross came to Cole’s defense, it appears to be a moot point now; Cole’s basketball career is, for the moment, over.
