For NBA legend and entrepreneur Magic Johnson, partnering with hemp and CBD company, Uncle Bud's, was a no-brainer, particularly as a retired athlete whose body has gone through rigorous wear and tear from years of playing professional basketball.
"It's a natural solution to your pain and giving you some relief," Johnson told Cheddar.
When it comes to professional sports, particularly the NBA, the former Laker's executive said he supports the idea of allowing athletes to use products like those from Uncle Bud's to "take care of their pains and aches." The use of CBD and other cannabinoids in the NBA and beyond has long been debated. While Johnson acknowledges league officials need to assess and maintain the banned substances lists, he says there are misunderstandings about CBD itself.
"I think they need to try Uncle Bud's and then make their decision based on one of the products in their whole line because I was the same way until I tried it," he explained.
For Johnson, player safety and wellness is a top priority and when it comes to college sports, he said he supports the safe return of gameplay amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"As long as athletes can be safe," he noted. "The university has to put all the protocols in place to make sure that the student-athletes will remain safe. That's the key."
Player wellness isn't just limited to physical well-being, Johnson said. He is also in favor of collegiate athletes being financially compensated. The NCAA announced in April that it is taking steps to allow the students to land endorsement deals. Johnson says many deals will not be for massive sums, but the athletes need some cash on hand to get through college.
"I was at Michigan State," Johnson said. "I wanted to have some money so that I could go get a sandwich or order a pizza or just to take my girlfriend to a movie."
On the topic of money, Johnson's recent business moves aren't just to secure better investments for himself. He's also helping thousands of minority and women-owned businesses stay afloat during the pandemic by providing over $100 million in loans through another partnership with MBE Capital Partners.
"The Paycheck Protection Program was not designed to help those that are Black or Latino," he said. "We didn't have a relationship with the banks or the credit unions."
Europeans upset with Elon Musk still aren’t buying his electric cars, adding to a long losing streak for his company.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
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Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
