![]() The way the rapper was treated awakened something in Rubin, he tells me a few days later in his private jet, as we fly with Meek and Lil Baby from the Hamptons to Richmond, Virginia. The flashy freeing of Meek Mill from jail wasn’t a one-time occasion. Which other sports owner frees a damn rapper from jail and makes the backdrop of it feel like a Rick Ross music video? That moment also afforded Rubin a cultural stamp of approval that his money could never buy. It remains, to this day, one of the wildest moments I’ve ever witnessed. He got Allen Iverson to persuade a family that had a poor experience with the judge who jailed Meek to testify he organized rallies on Meek’s behalf, and corralled other Philadelphia athletes like Malcolm Jenkins and Joel Embiid to show up at them.Īll of this culminated in one of the greatest moments in recent Philadelphia history: When Meek was freed from jail, Rubin picked him up in a helicopter and flew him to a Sixers game. He had not known about this aspect of the American justice system, and he says he was moved to action, making public and private pushes to free Meek as soon as possible. Rubin, who first met Meek when he sat next to the rapper at the 2015 NBA All-Star Game, came to the courthouse on the day Meek was taken away because Meek wanted him to see “what the courts do to Black people,” Rubin tells me. Meek had been sent back to jail due to a violation of his 8-year probation stemming from a misdemeanor gun possession charge in 2007, when Meek was 19 years old. ![]() Rubin first came to public attention back in 2018, when he helped free the Philadelphia-born street poet Meek Mill from prison. Michael Rubin heads towards the court at Game 1 of Sixers-Hawks. And then we meet Rubin’s guest of the night, Migos frontman Quavo, who guides us to the sidelines and posts up next to me for the game. The wrestler Triple H pounds cold ones in the corner. Daryl Morey, the new general manager of the team and the avatar of NBA analytics, towers over Rubin’s right shoulder. “Are you ready to do this shit?” Rubin asks, clapping loudly to no one in particular. Josh Harris, the Sixers' primary owner, shakes hands. We slam shots of Don Julio “1942” tequila before walking courtside. Rubin brings me to a cordoned-off section of the arena near the floor for pregame drinks. Lil Baby sleeps at his house in the Hamptons the Atlanta rapper says it looks like “the Google headquarters.” ![]() ![]() Shaq takes pictures with his mom on her birthday. Magic Johnson kicks it with him courtside at Sixers games. He’s young, wears Virgil Abloh’s Off-White sneakers and Supreme puffy pants, and frequently hangs out with titans of the sports and entertainment industry. Rubin is unlike any other sports owner I’ve ever met. He’s a proud Montgomery County boy, and he’s been taking bets with rappers and hustlers down south on the outcome of the series. Rubin is one of the three main partners who own the 76ers he also holds a minority stake in the New Jersey Devils and is the majority owner of the sports retailer Fanatics. “I’m gonna humiliate them.” It’s Game 1 in Philadelphia, as the Sixers prepare to clash with the Atlanta Hawks in the second round of the NBA playoffs, and Rubin and I are sitting in a private room underneath the arena. ![]() “Lil Baby and 21 Savage have been talking shit,” the billionaire Michael Rubin tells me. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |