The NBA and ESPN announce next installment of Champion Black Businesses initiative

This year marks the fourth year of the program, which was originally launched in 2020 to bolster Black-owned businesses.

The NBA finals will mark a new league winner on the court, but there are winners off the court already. 

Ahead of the NBA finals Wednesday evening, The NBA and ESPN have announced the next installment of the Champion Black Businesses (CBB) initiative, which showcases Black businesses across all of ESPN’s platforms during and around the time of the NBA finals. 

This year’s companies include Rock City Pizza in Boston, Oldvine Florals in Los Angeles, NiLu Gift Store in New York and Straw and Wool in Phoenix. 

Rock City Pizza, an eatery that Joseph Charles established in 2013, pays tribute to Boston’s rock music history with its name. Oldvine Florals, a company that Itika Oldwine-Grimble founded in 2017, is a full-service floral shop offering a “modern twist” on floral design. It is located in the heart of Los Angeles’ Financial District. NiLu Gift Store, an online lifestyle brand that husband and wife Mark Pinn and Katrina Parris Pinn launched in 2015, aims to give a global customer base a local shopping experience. Straw and Wool, a hat company that launched in 2020, is the brainchild of M Ali Nervis and Henry Dickerson. 

Each company will receive 30-second films about their brand’s story broadcasted across all of ESPN’s platforms and Andscape on and around the time of the NBA finals. The collaborating partners hope that fans will use the #ChampionBlackBusinesses hashtag across social media and check out each business. 

In addition to the promotion across all platforms, each business will have the opportunity to meet with and receive one-on-one mentorships from ABC’s “Shark Tank” stars Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec, and Barbara Corcoran.

“Champion Black Businesses continues to evolve and grow, and we’re excited to launch Year 4,” ESPN’s Vice President of Sports Marketing, Emeka Ofodile, said in a release. “Black businesses are the heart of local communities across this country, and we’re committed to leveraging the power of our sports media platform to drive positive impact in those communities. Seeing the impact this program has made in the past three years fuels us to do more, and we can’t wait to get to work with our 2023 businesses.”

According to the release, launched initially in 2020, ESPN and the NBA founded the program to save Black businesses that were failing at high rates during the pandemic. Since its launch, the program has supported at least 10 Black-owned businesses. 

“Champion Black Businesses launched in 2020 as part of our racial and social justice push to take action to support Black-owned businesses, an area hit hardest during the pandemic,” reads a social media statement from organizers. “The goal of the initiative was to leverage the high-profile platform of the NBA finals to spotlight, promote, and enable growth for Black-owned businesses and their communities.” 

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